A Year To Remember
by x beautiful stranger x
Summary: Harry Potter is dying after a final battle with Voldemort. Ginny Weasley visits him at St. Mungo's, and confesses her true feelings for him. She falls asleep on his hospital bed, and flashes back to the year that was. PreHBP, AU
1. The Beginning of the End

Ginny Weasley sat curled up in a tiny ball, trembling violently and gasping hard. She clenched her eyes tight and drew in a large, sobbing breath. _Why me?_ She thought to herself. _Why him?_ She thought again. She couldn't take it. She was going to die like this. Ginny had never in her life been in so much pain. She let go another heavy sob. There was no way she would get through this alive.

Ginny looked up and saw the hospital waiting room. She had been in Saint Mungo's before, but this time was different. She looked around to see her family and friends. All were sitting together on the other side of the room, except for she and Ron, who sat in the opposing corner to her own. Her father was pacing, and comforting her mother. Fred and George sat with blank stares on their faces. Hermione sat alone three seats from her mother. Her face was red and tear streaked, and she wrung her hands impatiently. Hermione's hands bore deep, shiny cuts, and she had a bruise blooming on her left cheek.

Ginny looked over to her brother Ron. He looked almost as bad as she imagined she did. Apart from a slash across his face, and the bruises and scratches that framed his arms, he looked absolutely dreadful. His head was in his hands, and he was taking in sharp, stuttering breaths. His ears blended with his hair, a sure sign that he was very upset. Ginny felt horrible for him, and almost wanted to walk over and sit with him. But then she realized that he obviously wanted to be alone, because he was sitting in the corner separated from the rest of the family. She wanted the same, too, anyway. She didn't want to talk to anybody right now.

A different kind of pain shot through Ginny's body, now. This was the pain of injury. She looked down at her arm, which housed a long, deep wound that was now sticky with drying blood. She touched in lightly, and winced. It hurt very badly, and she knew she had to get it looked at, but that was the last thing on her mind right now. Suddenly, a healer walked into the waiting room. Ginny's mother Molly stood up.

"Is-is there any news?" She stuttered.

"There isn't much else we can do. He's just hanging on right now. Surviving one killing curse is one thing, but two? We're amazed he's made it this far. I'm sorry to bring the news that we don't think he'll make it through the night. We've done all we can. I'm very, very sorry. I can only imagine how hard this must be for you all. You can come in his room, though to say goodbye. Only one or two at a time, please."

Tears welled in Ginny's eyes. She wanted nothing more than to scream at the man that there had to be something more that they could do for him, but she knew in her heart that there wasn't. Ron looked to be crying heavily now, too, pushing aside the theory that boys don't cry, and Hermione was crying silently into her battered hands. Ginny imagined how they felt. He was, after all, their best friend. And to Ginny he was more, but he would never know now.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley followed the healer back into the room, now. Ginny put her head in her hands and cried. She looked up about two minutes later to find Hermione standing over her. She looked at Ginny with sad eyes.

"F-Fred and G-George are going in when your parents come back. I'm going after them. D-do you want to come with m-me or Ron?" Hermione asked through stifled sobs.

"By myself." Ginny said in a barely audible whisper.

"What?" Hermione asked.

"I…I want to go in by myself." Ginny responded.

"Okay." Hermione nodded. She went back to her seat.

About five long minutes later, Ginny's parents came back. Mrs. Weasley was crying greatly and was being supported by Mr. Weasley who looked like he was having a difficult time, himself. Fred and George got up and walked back to the room together. They came back about ten minutes later, with very long, sad faces. It was now Hermione's turn to go back. She went in by herself, and then came back after about forty minutes later only because Mr. Weasley went in to see if she was all right. Hermione collapsed onto her chair and cried.

Ginny looked over to Ron, who was now looking up, too. He slowly rose from his chair and followed the healer to the wards. He was back in a few seconds. He turned to his mother.

"I can't do it." His voice was like rough sandpaper.

"I know how hard this is for you," said Mrs. Weasley, trying to comfort him.

"I can't see him like that. I-I can't," Ron stuttered.

"Ron. This could be the last time you see him. Go on, please," Mrs. Weasley urged him. He slowly walked back again.

Not too long after Ron went back, Ginny saw Remus Lupin come in. He signed in at the front desk, and turned to Mr. Weasley.

"I'm sorry it took me so long to get here. I had to sort some remaining things out with the Ministry. How is Ha—" He was cut off by Mr. Weasley shaking his head. "He hasn't—" He was cut off again.

"No. He's hanging on, but they say they don't think he'll make it through the night," said Mr. Weasley. As he said this, Lupin's face dropped. Ginny thought she saw a tear run down his cheek.

"And how are the children?" Lupin asked.

"Well," sighed Mr. Weasley, "they have some minor injuries, nothing serious, though. And about, you know, they're handling about as well as they can. Ron's in his ward right now, you can go back after him, if you want."

"I think I will. But I'll leave Ron back there as long as he needs to say goodbye to his best friend." Lupin sat down next to the twins. He looked at them and nodded. Ginny felt another surge of sorrow creep through her veins, and tears dripped off her eyelashes quietly. She would go to see him last.

Ginny closed her eyes. She was tired. His face weaved in and out of her head. She couldn't bear to see it anymore, so she forced herself awake. Ron was back, looking worse than ever. Lupin was now missing from the waiting room. Ginny rubbed her eyes sleepily. Lupin walked back through the waiting room door. He sat down, and buried his face in his hands. Ginny realized it was her turn to go back. She got up slowly. Her legs felt like jelly, and they wouldn't allow her to walk straight. She went over to her mother.

"If I don't come back soon, don't send anybody back to get me, please," Ginny whispered to her mother. Mrs. Weasley nodded in reply.

As Ginny walked the long hallway, it seemed to take ages to get to his room. Her mind was racing with so many different thoughts. She walked slowly to a room at the end of the hallway. Ginny pushed the door open, and saw him lying on a bed, eyes closed, barely breathing. The sight of him like this made her knees weak and her stomach turn in knots. She knew now why Ron didn't want to see him. She herself almost wanted to run out of the door, so she did not have to remember him like this. She took in a heavy breath. Ginny walked over to his bed.

"Harry," she spoke in a wavering whisper. "Oh, Harry," she whispered again. Ginny sat next to him on the bed. She reached over, and brushed her hand across his cheek. He was barely warm. She pushed his hair away from his scar, which almost glowed a deep red.

"I hate seeing you like this, Harry," Ginny said to him, softly. She waited for a response, but knew she wouldn't get one. "They-they said that you might not get through the night, and I want to believe that you will, Harry, I really do, but," she drew in a breath, "but it's hard to." Ginny wiped her face. She was crying again. She bit her lip, and looked at Harry lying there, not saying a word. "Say something to me, Harry, tell me you're alright, please just say something!" She was angry with him. Mad for putting her through this pain. She got up of his bed and sat down in the chair in the corner of the room.

"Why are you doing this to me, Harry?" Ginny stared at him for what seemed like five minutes. She left the chair and sat on the bed again. She couldn't bring herself to stay mad at him. Ginny leaned over him. "Do you remember," she said, smiling some, "the day I first saw you? I was so excited. I think you thought I was a nutter. But, you didn't really know who you were then, did you? And the next year you went and saved my life. For that I am ever grateful. I wish there was some way for me to save yours. And I never really got to tell you how I feel." Ginny took in a deep breath. She felt tears in her eyes again. She curled up next to Harry, and laid her head on his chest. She could just make out his heart beating faintly.

"Harry," she whispered. "This year was wonderful. We got so much closer, and now, it's just, all gone. But I have to tell you the truth. Remember earlier today, I was going to tell you something? I wish I would've told you then, but I guess it's better later than never. I hope you can still heat me in there, Harry," Ginny sighed, and looked straight into Harry's closed eyes. "I love you," she said to him. She laid her head back down on his chest. She closed her eyes, and felt herself falling asleep. Her mind flashed back to the beginning of the year…


	2. Back To Hogwarts

Chapter 2: Back to Hogwarts

"Ginny!" Mrs. Weasley called through the bellow of the Hogwarts Express final whistle. "Ginny! You forgot your lunch!" Ginny hurried back to her mother from boarding the train.

"Mum! Way to call me back for such a minor thing! I have to go or the train will leave without me!"

"I know dear, but," Mrs. Weasley paused, "I suppose you are a little old for remembering lunch. Now hurry onto the train." Ginny turned, but then stepped back and gave her mother a quick squeeze goodbye. She knew her mother was being sentimental.

Ginny walked onto the train, and headed back along the aisle looking for her brother Ron, Hermione, and Harry. As she passed the next compartment, she saw their familiar faces and walked in.

"Oy! What took you so long?" Ron asked her as she took a seat next to Hermione.

"Mum called me. I forgot my lunch," Ginny answered.

"Well, where is it then?" Harry asked her, grinning slightly.

"Oh, well, I forgot it again." She said to him rather meekly. Harry rolled his eyes and sniggered. Ginny smiled to herself. She liked to see Harry happy.

"Well anyway," Ginny began, "I can't believe youlot are starting your seventh year! What am I going to do next year without my best friends?"

"I know what you'll do," Ron said. "You'll come to school and make new friends."

"I have friends other than you guys. Luna's one of my friends. And I know some other girls from Gryffindor and Ravenclaw."

"Good. You're all set for next year, then," said Ron. Ginny turned to Hermione.

"But I'm still going to miss you all so much!" she said.

"And we'll miss you too! But we still have this whole year ahead of us, so don't get all emotional now," Hermione said to Ginny.

Hermione's words comforted Ginny some, but she still thought about her friends' last year at Hogwarts. She looked over to Harry, who was silently looking out of the window. This year would be her last chance to prove to him that they were meant for each other. Harry believed that she had moved on from him. True, she had dated some over the past few years, but her feelings for Harry always ended up getting in the way of her relationships, in which all were ended by Ginny. She looked at her brother now, who was beginning a conversation with Harry.

"I can't believe how fast summer went by! It seems like just yesterday we were sitting in here going home!" Ron said to Harry.

"I know! And summer holiday was great this year, I wish it could be a little longer," said Harry. He was right there. Summer holiday this year was very fun. Ginny remembered it, too.

Harry had stayed for most of the summer, and he and Ron spent most of the time just hanging out. But, the three of them also practiced Quidditch. Ron had improved greatly over the last year, and with Ginny as one of the new chasers, they were almost unstoppable, and that was without the rest of the team. Ron, Harry, and Ginny would spend at least two days a week practicing together outside, flying around on their brooms, and using the new set of Quidditch balls Harry got for his birthday from Hermione. That summer was great fun, but Ginny didn't get the ending she wanted. She wanted her and Harry to be together, but that didn't happen, so now she had all year to get the message across.

Harry and Ron were deep in conversation about the new moves they would be using this Quidditch season, when their compartment door opened. It was Neville Longbottom. The past two years had done Neville good. This summer, especially. Ginny was surprised when he walked in. Last year he had dropped some of his old chubbiness, but this year it looked to be almost all gone. He had lost his boyish look, and had grown, to Ginny's amazement, quite handsome.

"Hi, guys!" Neville said to the group. Hermione looked up, and her eyes widened some.

"Neville! Wow! You look, so, so—"

"Good? Yeah, well," Neville's cheeks flushed pink. "Gran said I was 'turning into a man'." They all laughed at the comment. Neville sat down next to Ron.

"You know, Neville," Ron began, "You clean up pretty nicely."

"Yeah. You shouldn't have any trouble finding a girl this year," Harry laughed. Ginny smiled, too. She had always felt sorry for Neville, but now seeing him all grown up made her feel better. Maybe his new appearance would boost his confidence some.

"So did you have a good summer?" Neville asked them.

"Wicked!" exclaimed Ron.

"Hermione got me this fantastic Quidditch ball set for my birthday, so we got to practice with that," Harry added to Ron's statement.

"That's great to hear," answered Neville. They continued the conversation, and Neville told them about his summer. After about fifteen minutes, Neville stood up. "Well I should get going now." He turned to the compartment door.

"Bye, Neville," Ginny said to him. Neville left, and the three of them looked at each other with wide eyes.

"Bloody hell," murmured Ron. "I can't believe that was Neville." Ron shook his head. Ginny and Hermione were exchanging looks when their compartment door opened again.

This time, a white blonde head peeked in. It looked around, and a nasty smirk drew across its face. It was Malfoy. He walked in.

"Well, well, well, look who's grown up this summer." Malfoy purred.

"Shove off, Malfoy!" Hermione shot at him, glaring straight into his steely eyes.

"I wasn't speaking to you, Granger," he sneered. "Good God do you really think I would actually say something like that to a mudblood like you? I was speaking to the Weasley girl. My she is looking good this year. All grown up now, aren't we?" Ginny felt her face heat up with anger and embarrassment.

"Don't you talk to my sister like that, Malfoy," Ron threatened, his fists clenching and his ears reddening. He stood up.

"Come off it, Weasley. I was giving her a compliment. But I suppose you aren't accustomed to receiving them very often, given the state of your things," Malfoy drawled. His eyes narrowed, and he turned for the door. "See you around, Weasley," he said to Ginny, grinning, and then left.

"Yuck. I feel unclean. The nerve of him to talk to me like that," Ginny groaned. But in a way, Malfoy was right. Shehad changed this summer. Apart from growing a little but taller, she now had more of the body of a woman. And as much as she loathed Malfoy, she was a little happy somebody noticed she was growing up. She just wished Harry would see it, too. Ginny knew that he still thought of her as Ron's baby sister, not the woman she was growing into.

Ginny and Neville weren't the only ones to have matured over the last year. Ron had finally outgrown his awkward stage and had muscled up some from Quidditch training. Harry too had lost his boyishness, and grown even better looking. Hermione, underneath her bushy hair, was very pretty; she just didn't take the time to allow others to see it as much. Ginny once tried to convince her to tie her hair back, that it would show off her pretty face, but Hermione just said "who really cares about looks anyway?" and Ginny dismissed the subject. Ginny looked out of the window, and watched the extensive green fields roll by. The clouds in the distance had threatening look about them, and fine raindrops began spitting softly on the windowpane.

The train pulled up to Hogwarts around 7:00. It was storming now, so Ginny pulled the hood of her robes over her head so that she wouldn't get wet. As the four of them got off the train, they heard the familiar call of Hagrid.

"Firs years, this way!" He called. As he beckoned, a flash of lightening lit the sky and a roar of thunder quickly followed.

"Do you suppose it's safe for the first years to be crossing the lake in this weather? What if they get hit by lightening?" Ginny asked Hermione.

"It's perfectly safe," Hermione told Ginny, "I read about it in Hogwarts, A History. There is a spell on the lake to refract electricity, so if the weather is bad like this, nobody crossing the lake will get electrocuted." Ginny nodded. Trust in Hermione to know something like that.

Ginny, Ron, Hermione, and Harry walked together up to the school, saying hello to their friends along the way. They made their way into the school, where Hermione was stopped by Professor McGonagall.

"Miss Granger, Head Boy and Girl need to meet with Professor Dumbledore before the feast starts. Would you care to follow me quickly to his office? You'll be able to join the rest of the table after Professor has his word with you both. Justin is already with him." Hermione left with Professor McGonagall to Dumbledore's office.

Ginny knew that Hermione would be picked Head Girl this year, but was surprised when she found out Justin Finch-Fletchley had been picked as Head Boy, and not Harry. Ron was also a little disappointed that he had not been picked, seeing as he was a Prefect. But both of them agreed that anyone was all right just as long as it wasn't Malfoy, whom they had speculated could have been chosen.

Without Hermione, Ginny, Ron, and Harry continued to the Great Hall, where students were beginning to take their seats at their houses' tables. Ginny followed Ron and Harry to the Gryffindor table. Harry and Ron sat next to their friends Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas, and Ginny sat across from them, saving a seat for Hermione.

"I'm starving!" Ron said enthusiastically.

"Me too," replied Harry. The rest of the school seemed to have made it in safely, minus the fact that they were wet from the rain outside. Everyone was now taking his or her seats, and the hall was filled with the excited chatter of a new year. After a few moments, Ginny saw Professor McGonagall's stern face at the entrance of the Great Hall, followed closely by the new group of terrified looking first years. Hermione was seen squeezing through the bunch of them, and Ginny waved to flag her over to the seat she had saved for her.

"Thanks," said Hermione. "Professor Dumbledore was just informing us about our responsibilities now as Head Boy and Girl. I was almost worried that we wouldn't be back in time for the sorting, but Dumbledore does need to be present for it." Just as Hermione said this, Dumbledore had appeared behind the teachers' table, and Professor McGonagall was placing the Sorting Hat on the three-legged stool. As McGonagall returned to the first years, Dumbledore stood up. The hall immediately quieted. He cleared his throat, and spoke.

"Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts!" he exclaimed jubilantly. "I see we have all made it here safely. Wet, but safely. It is a pleasure to see the familiar faces of our students back again, and the new ones of the first years who will be sorted in a matter of moments. I know you all are hungry, but hold on to your appetites for just a while longer. Now! Let the Sorting begin!" With that, Dumbledore sat down, and the Sorting Hat broke into its yearly song. After it was finished, it was applauded by the school, and McGonagall began announcing the names.

"Anspache, Daniella," she called from the long roll of parchment. A small, bouncy looking girl with blonde braids and very pale skin skipped up to the stool, picked up the hat herself, and plopped it atop her head. Ginny laughed at her eagerness. After a few seconds the Sorting Hat shouted "HUFFLEPUFF!" The Hufflepuff table exerted whoops of welcome and loud clapping as Daniella hopped over to her new house.

"Caveign, Arlen," was called. Arlen was lean, with dark chocolate colored hair, and as he walked up to the stool, the little girls in line gaped at him. Ginny could tell he was going to be popular amongst the younger girls. The Sorting hat was put on his head, and it yelled "GRYFFINDOR!" The Gryffindor table erupted into clapping and cheering for the first Gryffindor called that night.

The sorting continued, and Ginny was reminded of her own sorting. She was one of the few who weren't scared. She was confident that she would be placed in Gryffindor, because her entire family was in that house. She remembered distinctly that as the Sorting Hat was placed on her head, it said to her that she was obviously another Weasley, and the baby of the family. Then it shouted Gryffindor, and she walked excitedly to her new house that was clapping wildly for her. Ginny watched as McGonagall called another name.

"Paige, Stefani" was called, and girl with long, red hair almost the same shade as Ginny's walked timidly to the stool. The hat called "GRYFFINDOR" again; she was one of about four that had already been called.

"Reedmond, Thomas," was next, and was put in Ravenclaw, followed by "Soubrette, Scarlet," who was placed in Slytherin. The sorting finished about ten minutes later with "Younge, Derin," who was called "HUFFLEPUFF!"

"We've got a good amount of first years this year, I'd say about what, fifteen? Twenty?" asked Ron to Harry.

"I guess. First years are so…"

"Small? Easily convinced? Yes, we are going to have fun with them this year, Harry!" Ron and Harry laughed, but Hermione didn't find it amusing.

"You two are so immature! Don't you remember when you were first years? Nobody was dreadful to you? So what makes you think you can treat them horribly?" Hermione scolded them.

"Lighten up, Hermione," Ginny said. "They could use some, er, discipline, sometimes. Haven't you ever noticed how much they think of themselves and how they think they know everything? As cute as they are, they can be a real pain, you know." Harry and Ron continued talking about ways they could manipulate the first years, when Dumbledore stood up again.

"So now we may truly begin! Congratulations to the first years on their sorting! I know how dreadfully hungry you all are, so I will save my words until after the feast is complete, so for now, please do tuck in!" Dumbledore was seated again, and the food appeared on the plates and in wonderful amounts. The first years marveled in this, and took delight in asking around to each other "did you see that? It just showed up out of nowhere!" but the formers of the school took no time in digging into the marvelous food on their plates. Soon the hall was noisy again with talking and eating and discussions about summer holidays.

The feats concluded around 9:30, after all the students had had at least two helpings of meals and desserts, (Ron had more like five helpings of each; Ginny didn't know where he was keeping all of that food) and Dumbledore stood again for the final time.

"The food was splendid, was it not?" he asked. The hall erupted in cheers again for the food. "Yes, yes. Anyway, there are a few things I would like to remind you all before you head back to your houses. The first years should know, along with some of our older students, that the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds to all students, unless directed by a member of our staff. Also, Mr. Filch would like me to remind you that magic in the corridors is prohibited, and to view the list of items that are prohibited in the halls you should visit his office. Also, I would like to introduce our younger students to our new Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher, Remus Lupin. He is joining us again after a four year hiatus…"

"Lupin's back? Why didn't he tell us?" Ron asked Harry and Hermione.

"Why didn't he tell us?" Harry repeated to Ron, "Why didn't he tell me?" Ginny knew he had been in contact with Harry more since Sirius had died, so she wondered too why he didn't tell him.

"…With that, I think now it is time that we head off to bead. I ask the Head Boy and Girl to help direct the students, and prefects help, too. I am sure tonight is the start of a wonderful year! Goodnight!" A rush of students all got up at once, and the prefects tried to keep everything under control, but weren't doing a very good job at it.

"Hey! You there!" Ron tried calling at younger boy who didn't seem to know what he was doing had completely ignored Ron's efforts. "Oh well," he said. "I tried." As they walked, Lupin found Harry.

"Harry! It's good to be back here!" He said to Harry, shaking his hand. He nodded at Ron and Ginny.

"What are you doing back? And why didn't you tell me?" Harry interrogated Lupin.

"Firstly, I didn't really know I was coming back until about a week ago. Dumbledore contacted me and said that they really needed a new Defense teacher, and that he knew I was the best man for the job. At first I was hesitant, but I eventually gave in. It is nice to be back, though."

"Yeah, we're glad to see you someplace other than at our house sometimes to check in for the, er, you know what," Ron said. Lupin said his goodbyes, and the three of them climbed the stairs to the get to their house.

They walked to the portrait of the Fat Lady, and one of the new prefects gave the password. The group of Gryffindors piled into the common room. Harry, Ron, and Ginny took their favorite chairs by the fireplace, and waited for Hermione to return from her duties as Head Girl. As they waited, Harry and Ron went deep into conversation about Lupin being back, and how much fun this year was going to be, especially since it was their last. Ginny didn't join, but rather watched Harry. He looked especially good next to the fire. The flames echoed in his green eyes, and Ginny felt herself falling in love with him all over again, just as she always did when she looked into his eyes. Ginny fantasized about she and Harry for a while, when Hermione came back.

"That sure took you a while, Hermione, what did you have to do, pull a first year out of a suit of armor?" Ron teased her.

"Close," Hermione said, almost breathless, "We had to stop Peeves from dropping one, as in a suit of armor, on a first year. He is so terrible! Doesn't he realize he could seriously injure one of them?"

"Yes, and that's why he does it," Harry answered. They all laughed. Hermione sat down, and they all talked for another hour. The common room was almost completely empty when Hermione decided that if they didn't get to bed, they would all be late for their classes tomorrow morning. So, they said their goodnights to each other, and went to their dormitories.

Ginny went to her bed, were she noticed the other three girls who shared the same room as she were already asleep. She quietly changed to her nightdress, and climbed into bed. Ginny was still full from dinner, and still thinking about Harry. She was also thinking about the future.

Ginny sighed. Everyone was growing up, and everything was changing. In one year from now, she would be here by herself. She didn't want things to change and was perfectly content with her life right now. But, like Hermione said, it was one year away. Ginny would just have to make this year something great, really a year to remember.


	3. First Chance at a Last Shot

Ginny woke up the next morning with the sun streaming in on her face. The storm had blown over from last night. She yawned, and reached over for her watch. She sleepily checked the time, but was immediately jerked to her senses. Ginny gasped. It was 8:55; classes started in five minutes. She jumped out of bed, pulled on a pair of pants, a tee shirt, and her school robes over top. She tied her hair in a messy knot on the top of her head, and looked quickly in the mirror. What a way to start the year. Ginny grabbed her books, and sped down the stairs, through the common room, and out the portrait hole. Then she realized that she had no idea what class was first, so she ran back into the common room, up the stairs, grabbed her schedule, and gasping for breath, left the Gryffindor tower.

As Ginny walked, she checked her schedule and noticed she had Transfiguration first. _Wonderful. McGonagall will kill me. I'll have detention for a week,_ Ginny thought to herself, running through the corridors to the Transfiguration classroom like a madwoman. Finally, and ten minutes late, she stumbled haphazardly in to class. McGonagall stopped speaking, and looked at her.

"Nice of you to join us, Miss Weasley. I thought you would have known by now that I do not tolerate tardiness in my students. I think a detention this evening should do the trick." Ginny cringed. A detention on the very first day back?

"Sorry, professor," Ginny apologized.

"No need, Miss Weasley," McGonagall said, as she wrote on a sheet of paper. "Here," she said handing the sheet to Ginny. "Come to my office tonight directly after dinner. Nine o'clock please, try not to be late for that, too." The class laughed, and Ginny's ears turned red, just as her brother's often did when he was embarrassed. "Now kindly take your seat, so I may finish."

"Yes, professor," Ginny whispered in reply. She found a seat next to Allison Carter, one of her roommates.

"Morning," Allison said. "I was going to wake you up, but I wasn't sure if you wanted breakfast or not, so I just let you go."

"Don't worry about it," Ginny told Allison.

"Now, where was I?" Professor McGonagall asked. "Oh yes. This is your sixth year, and you are in my class because you did exceptionally well on your O.W.L.s. This year, I will begin training you for your N.E.W.T.s, which will be taken during your final year here at Hogwarts, which as you all know is only one year away." Ginny rolled her eyes. As if she needed any more reminding about the year to come. McGonagall continued.

"You all should be taking this year just as serious as next year, for the skills you will be learning this year are the basis of those that we will be learning next year. Our curriculum this year includes human transfiguration, large object transfiguration, and the theory of Apparation and Dissaparation, just to name a few." The classes' eyes widened with the mention of Apparating and Dissaparating; they all knew that next year would be the year for them to learn how to do it.

The transfiguration class finally began with a large sum of notes, and a review of last year's lessons. The bell then rang, and the class was dismissed.

"Remember, detention tonight, my office, Weasley," McGonagall called to Ginny.

"Right," Ginny called back. _How could I forget?_ She thought to herself as she walked down to the dungeons, for her second class of the day, Potions with Snape.

Snape started the class just like McGonagall; how only the ones who succeeded on their O.W.L.s were taking this class, and so he would only accept nothing less than one hundred percent of their efforts. Also, that they would begin preparing for their N.E.W.T.s this year, which were a blahdy, blahdy, blahdy, blah, as Ginny interpreted it. She was anxious to sit through the rest of her classes, in which she would be hearing exactly the same thing.

Ginny struggled through potions that day. It was her least favorite subject and her least favorite teacher, and if she had her choice, she would have dropped it, but as she still was unsure about what career she was to pursue after school, she was advised to take every important subject she could, just to be sure.

After a grueling hour with Snape, the dismissal bell finally went off. Only one more period until lunch, in which Ginny was anticipating greatly. Ginny walked to her next class, Ancient Runes, with her friend Tara Kinsey, a fellow Gryffindor. She vented to Tara about her not quite so wonderful first day back.

"…so then McGonagall gave me a detention! On the first day back! A little harsh, don't you think?"

"Definitely harsh," Tara said in response.

"Then, I had potions with the Master of the Underworld Snape, who gave us a lecture on how important our N.E.W.T.s are, and I kind of dozed off after that," Ginny said.

"I know! What is it with the teachers and stressing us already with N.E.W.T.s? They are next year! Don't they see we still have an entire year to worry about them?"

"Everything so far this year is all about next year. I keep telling myself to worry about now. Can't we all just start living in the present, and not dwelling on the future?" Ginny felt a twinge of hypocrisy inside her, because she too had been caught up in the problems of next year.

"Exactly!" Tara exclaimed, and they came to a stop at the Ancient Runes door.

"Here we go again," Ginny said, as they opened the classroom door.

Ginny kicked her bag under the Gryffindor table, and sat down next to Hermione and across from Harry and Ron, who were already eating.

"How's your first day back?" she asked the group.

"Mine is great!" Hermione said pleasantly.

"Yes, because I now get to immerse myself in all the work that I was estranged from during the summer holiday," Ron mocked to Hermione, as she shot him a reproachful look.

"And what about you, Harry?" Ginny asked eagerly. She really wanted an excuse to talk to him.

"Heinous," Harry replied in a seemingly careless way that made Ginny laugh.

"And may I ask why it was so, as you say, 'heinous'?" she asked again, adding a little flirt to her tone.

"I got detention. From McGonagall," he answered.

"Why?" Ginny wondered aloud.

"I was late. I forgot my transfiguration book, so I went back to get it, and she gave me a detention. She told me that at my age I should be more responsible. This was just last period, too."

"Well don't feel bad. I've got detention from her, too. I was also late. I had her first, and I overslept."

"Yeah, now that I think about it, I do remember her saying that she didn't know what the deal was with us today, and that I was her second late student this morning. What time is yours at?" Harry asked Ginny.

"Right after dinner. Nine o'clock," she replied.

"Mine too. We can walk together, ok? Just wait for me after you're done eating, or I'll wait for you or whatever," Harry told Ginny. She nodded, and bit her lip. A rush of excitement flooded through her veins. She would have detention tonight with Harry. It might be a detention, but still, it was with Harry. _Funny_, Ginny thought, _how something bad can turn itself around into something good. Thanks for the detention, Professor._ Maybe today wasn't an awful start to the year after all.

Ginny went through the rest of the day in somewhat of a daze. She was no longer dreading her detention with McGonagall. On the contrary, she was very much anticipating it. All she could think about was that she was having detention Harry. Through her classes during the day, no matter what the professor was talking about, her mind was on the possibilities of that night's events.

She had it all planned out in her head. They would walk together to the detention, flirting coyly with each other the whole way. During the detention, they would cast each other furtive glances, suggesting the inevitable. Then, on the way back to the Gryffindor Tower, Harry would pull her aside in a dark corner, where the passion inside him for her would overflow, and Ginny's lust for him would be fulfilled with her heart's inner desires. Ginny knew the chances of this actually happening were close to zero, but it was still fun to think about, so she thought about it during practically every moment throughout the rest of the day. And then, finally, the last bell of the day rung, and Ginny's heart almost exploded with excitement.

Ginny hurried up to the Gryffindor tower, so she could leave her schoolbooks in her dormitory, chat a bit with her other friends, and then leave for dinner. Thankfully, the only homework she was assigned was from potions and transfiguration, and both papers each weren't due until next week, so Ginny could worry about them another night. After a quick conversation with Delaney Burgess about how unfair Professor McGonagall was to her this morning, Ginny found Harry, Hermione, and Ron getting ready to leave for dinner.

"Ginny, are you coming with us?" Harry asked as he walked over to her.

"Yeah. Thanks for waiting for me," Ginny replied, and said goodbye to Delaney. Delaney gave her a "you're so lucky you're friends with him" kind of look as she said goodbye in return.

The four of them entered the Great Hall, which was already crowded with students. After the hall was filled, Dumbledore stood for a quick word before they ate.

"Good evening, students! I trust you all had a splendid day back! Hopefully today was a sign of a good year to come!" Dumbledore raised his glass in a toast, and everyone began to eat.

Ron began a conversation by telling everyone about how awful Snape treated him today, by forcing him to work with Malfoy on the first day back.

"As soon as he said 'say hello to your sister for me' I swear I would've jumped him if Snape wasn't in the room."

"You swear, do you?" said a drawling voice from behind him. It was Malfoy. "Well then since you won't say hello to her for me, I guess I'll have to do it myself. Hello, Weasley. It's really a shame you have to associate your name with the rest of your disgraceful family."

"You disgust me!" Ginny said to him, throwing daggers at him with her eyes.

"Calm down, girl," Malfoy replied, and walked back to his seat.

"I sincerely loathe him," Ginny said, her face burning with anger.

"If he ever tries to do anything to you, let me know," Harry told her. She blushed, but you couldn't really tell since her face was already flushed red.

"Ok," Ginny nodded in reply. This night couldn't get any better.

Dinner ended with the four of them being full, when Harry said that they should probably get going if they wanted to be on time for their detention. They said goodbye to their friends at the table, and began the trip to McGonagall's office.

"So…" Harry said.

"So…" Ginny repeated. It was a little awkward. Did this mean Harry liked her, too? Then he began to speak.

"Can't wait for Quidditch to start. We'll be unbeatable again this year, I can feel it," Harry said excitedly.

"Yeah. And we better be, I mean, at least you, me, and Ron after all that training at the Burrow," Ginny commented, and they both laughed. They continued their conversation about Quidditch until they found themselves in front of McGonagall's door.

"Allow me, miss," Harry joked, and went for the door ahead of Ginny.

"You're too kind, sir," Ginny played back, and they walked into McGonagall's office.

"Good evening," Professor McGonagall said to them. "Potter and Weasley. So predictable." She smiled, though, letting them know she wasn't angry with them.

"Please take a seat, one over there, and one over there, thank you. You'll be doing sentences tonight. I know it's your first day back, so just 'I will be more responsible to avoid tardiness', please. I'll inform you when forty-five minutes are complete."

Like in Ginny's fantasy, she and Harry did peek at each other every so often, but it normally resulted in smiles and suppressed giggles rather than overwhelming feelings of desire. Well Ginny didn't think Harry was feeling that, anyway. After forty-five minutes, McGonagall called the detention to a close, and dismissed the two. Again, Ginny found herself walking alone with Harry, but this time in dark hallways, since it was past curfew for students. They walked in silent awkwardness for about a minute, and then Ginny spoke.

"That wasn't bad. The sentence was easy, and there weren't any Umbrage-esque blood quills involved." Harry laughed.

"Those were the worst detentions of my life!" He said.

"I can only imagine," Ginny giggled. Harry changed the subject as they turned a corner.

"You know, if I hadn't been out of the tower so many times at night before this, I probably wouldn't know where I was going." With that, he broke out into a sprint down the corridor and to the top of the staircase. "Bet you can't keep up," he shouted quietly to her.

"Really? I bet I can." Ginny ran full speed at Harry, when they found themselves racing up the steps, tripping and pulling each other down so the other one could get ahead. They scrambled to the Fat Lady's picture, stumbling over their feet.

"I won," Harry taunted breathlessly. He stood over her, staring her down.

"No! I won!" Ginny retorted back, standing her own ground. He smirked in her face.

"Really? Because I'm pretty sure that I got here first."

"Well I think you need to get your glasses checked, Mr. Potter, because I clearly won," Ginny said coyly, smiling back. Ginny looked right into Harry's eyes. It was amazing how dark it was, yet they stilled glowed their luminous, brilliant green color. She felt Harry's hand graze her own, and then slowly dance up her arm. It made her heart race, and sent shivers down her spine. Harry looked straight into her eyes.

"No, I think we might have both won here tonight," He whispered softly. Harry stepped closer to her, and Ginny could practically taste him. Not even she could have dreamt up what happened there next…


	4. Lessons from the Heart

Ginny prepared to back away from Harry, who was growing steadily closer to her. _This is too easy._ She thought. There had to be something more. She always thought of playing hard to get; she wanted Harry to have to chase her. Technically, he had chased her tonight. Did that count? Ginny saw him edging closer, and she racked her brain on what to do. This is what she wanted, right? But it was only the first day back. Shouldn't there be more? But all summer was more. This was school, though. Shouldn't there be more school? This was stupid. Why was she even thinking about this? This was what she wanted. No, it wasn't. _It is_, she told herself. Then in the back of her head, _No, you can't do this, _crept up.

Everything was happening so fast, Ginny didn't know what to do. She wanted it, she really did, but something wasn't right, something made her want to wait for this moment to happen again, when it would feel better for her. As Harry moved in toward her, Ginny quickly turned her head, and said the password to the Fat Lady. She ran in with a quick goodnight to Harry, who looked slightly perplexed at what had just happened. Ginny hurried up to her dormitory, not looking back at Harry, who was still standing in the common room entrance.

Once Ginny had reached her dormitory, she fell on her bed, and heaved a weighty sigh. _What just happened?_ She thought to herself. _Why didn't I kiss him? Why did I step away? _Regret pounded through her like millions of tiny hammers. Then that little voice that had told her not to kiss Harry voiced itself again. _You aren't ready to kiss him yet. It doesn't just happen like that. It takes time and effort_, it said to her. _No, _Ginny thought back to the voice, _I am ready to kiss him. I'm sixteen years old! I've kissed tons of boys already! What makes you think I'm not ready to kiss one yet? _The voiced answered her. _If you are ready, as you say, why didn't you kiss him?_ Ginny paused. _Because…because I love him. _The voice in her head seemed to laugh in her ear, which angered her. _Exactly,_ It said. _You proved my point. You love him. And that's why you can't kiss him. Love does funny things. Like I've said already. With love, things don't happen in an instance. You need to look at it straight in the eye, and take your time. You can't rush it. Love takes time and effort. Even when it's just as minor as a kiss. _The voice quieted itself. Ginny sighed again. She hated it when she was right.

Over a week had passed since the night that Ginny had almost kissed Harry. The two would talk, but it was still on the reserved side. Neither of them had mentioned the incident the week before. Ginny knew that at one point or another Harry would probably ask her why she didn't kiss him, but for now, she was happy that he didn't. She knew as soon as he did, it would bring them even more awkwardness than there was now, and that was probably the reason he had not brought it up.

Today was Wednesday, and the morning periods had finished for lunch. Ginny had Defense Against the Dark Arts today after lunch, which made her happy. Defense Against the Dark Arts was easily Ginny's favorite class, especially now that Lupin was back. She didn't have much of a chance to talk to him during their first lesson, but she planned to try to get to class a bit early today. Part of the reason she wanted to talk to him was because it would be nice to speak to him without Order business on his mind. The other was to find out the real reason he was back. She knew when they had talked on the first day, Lupin hadn't told the three of them everything. Ginny knew he was hiding something, presumably from Harry, which Ginny figured, was probably was one of the reasons he was back.

Ginny found her way to the Gryffindor table, and took her usual seat next to Hermione and across from Ron and Harry.

"Hi," Ginny said pleasantly to the three of them.

"I'm glad you're here," Harry said to her, swallowing a bite of his ham lunch.

"Really?" She asked. She felt her cheeks redden a little, and hoped nobody noticed.

"Ron and I forgot to tell you that we'll be starting Quidditch soon. First practice is on Saturday at one. We don't have real schedule yet, but hopefully we'll at least have a tentative one by then."

"Alright," Ginny said, a little less flustered now. How could she have thought he was glad to see her for any other reason?

"Are you ready for another sweeping season?" she asked Harry back.

"Of course! We are going to be unbeatable this year!" He said enthusiastically.

"We were unbeatable last year, mate," Ron corrected him through a full mouth.

"You know what I mean," retorted Harry. The two boys began a conversation about how their team was going to come out on top again, while they predicted the standings of the other houses.

"Ravenclaw's got Alans, and he's probably one of the best Chasers here," Ron said.

"Yes, but we've got _three_ top of the line Chasers, not just one. Plus, we've beat them before," Harry replied.

"But it was close," Ron said back.

"But we won. Are you trying to say your own team isn't good enough to win…?"

"Boys," Hermione said to Ginny. "Once you get them started on Quidditch, they never come off it."

"I know what you mean. I like Quidditch too, but I don't obsess over it," Ginny said back.

"So, what do you have next?" Hermione asked Ginny.

"Defense with Lupin. I actually want to get up there soon; I've been meaning to ask him something."

"What?" Hermione inquired.

"Well," Ginny said, lowering her voice, "I know there's another reason why he's here. Not just because Dumbledore couldn't find a new teacher."

"You're right. I was thinking the same thing. I mean, why would he just come back? I thought he was worried about his," Hermione paused for a moment, "condition, and what the parents might think?"

"I know. I think, though, that it might have to do with Harry. I think Dumbledore wants there to be an extra eye out for him." Ginny replied.

"That's probably it. But as much as I believe Harry needs to be safe, isn't the entire staff looking out for him? Why would they need one more?"

"That is why I'm going to speak with Lupin. You would think they would put a tracking spell on him," Ginny laughed.

"I'm surprised they haven't," Hermione said, as she looked at her watch. "Oh, well I need to get going. I need to see Professor McGonagall before class starts. Ron, Harry!" They ignored her. She rolled her eyes, and smacked the table in front of them.

"Hey! Are you coming with me?" she asked them, once she had gotten their attention.

"Coming where?" Ron asked, a puzzled look drawing across his brow.

"Transfiguration, where else?" she said back annoyed.

"We've got ten minutes still!" Ron told her.

"Yes, but—oh never mind. Continue going on about Quidditch. I'll go by myself."

"I'll come with you. Defense is on the way," Ginny said. They walked out of the Great Hall together, and began to their classes.

"So why do you need to see McGonagall?" Ginny asked.

"Well, you know I'm going to take my Apparation and Dissaparation tests this year, so before I go, I need to have a meeting with her. It's required before we take the test. You need to have a certain grade and ability to take it, so I shouldn't have any trouble," Hermione informed her.

"Right, Ginny said. After a few moments, Hermione continued up another flight of stairs, were Ginny got off on the second floor, and headed to Lupin's classroom. She opened the door to see him preparing for their lesson today.

"Miss Weasley. It's nice to see you here early," Lupin greeted her as she put her books down at a desk.

"Hello, professor." She walked over to where he was setting up a mermaid skeleton.

"Anything I can help you with before the rest of the class gets here?" Lupin asked her.

"Well," Ginny started, "I don't want to sound officious, but, I was thinking, and the thought crossed my mind that there was another reason you're here other than just to teach. And am I right in believing the other reason is Harry?" Ginny surprised herself. She had definitely been around Hermione too much. Those were Hermione's big words coming out of Ginny's mouth.

"I can see you are concerned for your friend, as am I. So yes, that is the other reason I am here. You could say I'm keeping watch on him."

"But doesn't he have the whole school on watch for him?" she asked, trying not to sound too intrusive. She knew it was Harry, Lupin, and Dumbledore's business, not really hers. But then again, being friends with Harry meant all of his business was yours, too. It was hard work sometimes.

"Yes, he does have the staff, and some students, watching out for him. But as you know, the times are hard now. It's difficult enough for Dumbledore to try and keep Harry under his eye, but he also has an entire school to keep safe. Dumbledore knew this, so he wanted another person he could trust to come in this year. Dumbledore also wanted somebody who Harry could trust, who he could go to when something was wrong, as an alternative to himself or his friends." Ginny scowled at this comment. What was wrong with his friends?

"Not that his friends are bad to turn to," Lupin said, noticing her look. "It's just that sometimes you can't help him in the ways that he needs for say, the situation at hand. This is something that he needs to come to Dumbledore or I for, not you or Ron or Hermione. That being said, Dumbledore knows that Harry trusts me, and that he would come to me if anything became aware to him that would worry him in anyway. This is all really just extra precaution to keep Harry safe from Voldemort. Do you understand now?" Ginny nodded. She was already almost sure that that was the reason, and was glad to hear that she had been mostly right about it.

"So does Harry know that that's why you're here?" Ginny asked Lupin again.

"No, and I would be happy if you weren't to tell him. I know he gets aggravated with things like this. He thinks that he can protect himself, but in a situation as large as this, he needs some back up help."

"Right," Ginny said.

"I'm glad to see your concern," Lupin commended. "You know he cares for you so much. Being a friend to Harry is a difficult thing. Everything he goes through, you go through with him. It takes much strength, and a very strong heart to help guide him through the obstacles you have. I don't think you know how much you have actually done to keep Harry going. Having friends like you has strengthened him that much more."

Ginny smiled, and turned to her seat. The class was now beginning to fill. Hearing Lupin say those words made being there for Harry even more important to her than it ever was. She was reminded of how much she truly cared for him. _Love has so many elements_, she thought. She began to grasp what she had really known all along. Some of love's secrets were unfurling themselves right before her eyes…

It was Saturday. Ginny woke to the pleasant sound of Ron screaming at the top of his lungs for her to get up, so she wouldn't miss practice. She walked to the top of the stairs and yelled back.

"It's only 9:30!" She said irritably to him.

"Yes, but I want to make sure you're up and awake for the start of practice," which was at noon.

"I have two hours to be up and awake for practice!" She glowered at him, and traipsed back to her room. _The nerve of him to wake me up on a Saturday morning,_ she thought angrily, but understood Ron's enthusiasm for the start of the season.

Ginny attempted to fall back asleep for another hour, but found herself wakeful from Ron's Quidditch calling. She dressed, and made her way to the common room, where she found Harry and Ron already deep into plan about today's practice. She yawned, and said a drowsy hello. Her stomach was growling, so she decided to have breakfast, since practice would run over lunch.

As Ginny walked to the Great Hall, she ran into two girls from her year, Priscilla and Blythe, who were also heading to breakfast.

"Ginny!" They said in unison.

"Hi Priscilla, hi Blythe," Ginny said to the girls.

"You're going to breakfast alone? You should come sit with us," Blythe offered her. Ginny agreed, and joined with them.

Priscilla and Blythe were best friends, and one could only stand so much of them. Apart, Ginny found them pleasant to be around. Together, they were a nightmare of gossip, squealing, and expensive accessories. The two had come from wealthy families, and grew up together. One was as materialistic and self-absorbed as the other, and Ginny could hardly find a time when they weren't talking about themselves to themselves. But, they were in her year. Ginny knew that if she wanted to have a social life next year, she would need to become closer to people who would be here next year. She doubted that she could afford being good friends with Priscilla and Blythe, though.

As the three girls took seats at the Gryffindor table, Ginny was bombarded with "did you hear's," and, "do you know what he/she did's", and many gasps of surprise. The girls seemed to know anything and everything about the personal lives of each and every Hogwarts student. If Ginny couldn't afford being their friend, then she definitely wouldn't be able to store that amount of information in her head. After Priscilla and Blythe had exhausted the morning's newest gossip, they turned to Ginny.

"You know, we see you all the time, but we never really talk too much. I think we should take the opportunity to get to know each other better. Let's see…I know you're friends with that genius Hermione girl…somebody needs to teach her some fashion sense. But anyway, you're also friends with Harry," They both sighed romantically, and dreamy looks spread across their faces.

"You know he's gorgeous," Blythe said to her. Of course Ginny knew. Was she blind?

"Yeah, he's not bad," Ginny replied. She picked at her eggs while Priscilla took off on her entire life's story. Ginny was almost falling asleep when Priscilla was at her fifth birthday party, where her parents had bought her a pony with wings. She looked hastily at her watch. 10:30.

"Oh my," Ginny blurted out in the middle of Priscilla's history. "Look at the time! I've really got to go. We have Quidditch practice today," she said as she removed herself from the table.

"Really? That's a shame. I was just about to the part where Mummy and Daddy bought me a diamond encrusted wand for my Hogwarts acceptance letter," Priscilla said.

"I'm sorry I'm going to miss it," Ginny lied, and turned to leave, when Blythe said something to her.

"You know, you should really talk to Harry about letting us design some knew uniforms for the Quidditch team. Pink is a variation of red, right?" Ginny ignored this comment and rushed out of the Great Hall as fast as she could. _There is no way I will subject myself to that next year,_ Ginny thought, as she decided that there was no need for the three of them to become any closer.

As Ginny reached the staircase, she sighed. How was she going to be able to find any friends as perfect as the ones she already had? But she shook the thought out of her head, and reprimanded herself. She was thinking about the future again, which she had done a good job of putting off the past week. But she had other things, namely another person, on her mind to be thinking about the future more.

Ginny reached the Gryffindor common room as it was becoming livelier with conscious students. It was now growing on 10:30, and Ginny decided she would get ready now, and maybe get out to the Quidditch pitch a little early to warm up a bit. She dressed in a pair of jeans and sweatshirt; the weather was beginning to turn brisk with fall. Ginny retrieved her broom from under her bed, and headed to the playing field.

Ginny left the castle, and looked around the Hogwarts grounds. It was beautiful outside today. The air was crisp with a light breeze, and the sky was a deep robin's egg blue, with fine, wispy clouds hovering high above. She inhaled the approaching autumn air, and contented herself. It was a fine day for practice.

Ginny made her way to the pitch, which to her relief, was empty. She walked to the center of the field, and mounted her broom. A wave of freedom rushed through her body as wind blew through her whipping hair. She flew higher and higher, reaching her zenith, then diving down, pulling out only inches from the ground. Loosing track of time completely, she flew around the field, letting her inner spirit consume herself.

Ginny was free. Nothing could ever take this feeling of liberation away from her. That was her feeling at least, until she saw two people walking to the field. They were too far to really make out at first, but Ginny stayed on her broom, waiting to see who they were until they came closer. Finally, Ginny could see one was Harry. But he was with someone. A girl. But it wasn't a girl from their team. She squinted her eyes, trying to see who she was. Ginny recognized her, as they walked closer. The girl was in her year, she thought. A Ravenclaw. What was her name? Bridget? Yes, that was it, Bridget Fords. But what was she doing here?

Ginny watched them from below her. They obviously didn't see her flying above them. Harry had his Firebolt with him, probably because he was hoping to get to practice early, but then Bridget followed him along. She was probably bothering him. Nothing could keep Harry away from Quidditch. They stopped now, but were still talking. No, Bridget wasn't talking, she was flirting. She would squeal annoyingly every few moments, and reach over and touch his arm. Ginny grimaced, and felt hot jealousy leach throughout her. What did this girl think she was doing? Didn't she realize Ginny had already claimed Harry as hers? An urge to dive bomb Bridget swept over her.

Not soon enough, Ginny heard Harry tell Bridget that he really needed to warm up, and that the team would be here soon. Bridget asked if she could stay and watch. Harry agreed. This made Ginny's pulse race. Not wanting either one of them to notice her, she flew quickly out of the stadium, and landed behind it, so it would look like she was coming from the castle. She then walked over to the field for the second time.

"Hi Harry," she said to him, trying not to sound suspicious.

"Hey Gin. Nice to see you came out early. Good thinking." Ginny smiled in reply, and looked around.

"Who's that over in the stands?" she asked knowing perfectly who it was.

"Oh, that's, uh, Bridget. She wanted to watch."

"Really? But she's not even in our house? Are you sure she's not a spy for her team? You better be careful that she doesn't pick up any of our plays."

"I wouldn't worry. Bridget hasn't got the faintest idea about Quidditch. She really only knows the meager basics. Actually it's kind of cute."

Kind of cute? Who was he kidding? It wasn't cute. It was painful. Painful because Harry thought it was cute. Ginny felt her stomach drop, and her mind went a thousand miles a minute. She took a deep breath. _Don't come to any conclusions,_ she told herself.

"Let's do a lap or two before the rest of the team gets here," Harry said to Ginny, breaking her of the battle she was having in her mind.

"Yes, let's" Flying would help her clear her head.

They ended up taking four laps around together, and Ginny forgave him for thinking Bridget was cute. They decided to race on the final lap. Ginny had won, but only because Harry had let her. There was no way she could have beaten him on a Cleansweep as apposed to a Firebolt. They laughed as they landed, and Ginny noticed Bridget frowning as she and Harry were having a good time. _Good,_ she thought, _be jealous all you want. Harry's mine. Unofficially, but he's mine._

Ginny looked and saw the rest of the team, led by Ron, coming from a distance. The rest of the team had now consisted of Colin Creevey and his brother Dennis as the Beaters, and two girls called Joni Stauffer and Valerie Gregory, both fifth years currently, as the other two Chasers, the third being Ginny. When tryouts were held last year to replace practically the whole team, they were the best of who showed up, and that wasn't necessarily a good thing. But, after weeks of pre-season training, the team had really pulled together, and became undefeated in the regular season. This helped them take home the House Cup for the third year running. Ginny had a feeling this year would be no different.

"Oy!" Ron yelled to Harry as he entered the field.

"What took you all so long?" Harry asked him.

"Dennis thought he forgot to bring his broom with him," Ron explained, "We spent the last half-our looking for it until Colin found it under his bed. But we're here now, so let's get started."

The team did indeed get started, working for about four hours on new plays and strategies. After their long training session ended, Harry brought them in.

"I've got a schedule worked out with McGonagall. For now, we can practice Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from five till sundown, and Saturday from noon to four, like today. When it starts getting too dark for weekday practices, we'll move to Saturday and Sunday from noon to four, unless we have a match that day. Does it sound good?"

The team nodded, and Harry and Ron dismissed them. Ginny lagged behind after Ron left for the showers. She wanted to wait for Harry. There was no way she was leaving him alone with Bridget.

"That was a great practice," she told Harry, as he loaded the ball box up.

"It was, wasn't it? We did great for the first practice back." He stood up, looked her straight in the eyes, and smiled at her. Ginny bit her lip, and smiled back. If he would kiss her now, would she be able to kiss him back? This question was still unanswerable, so she would follow her heart, and wait until the time was right. And even she was ready they wouldn't have been able to, because Bridget was now standing right over their shoulders.

"Wow, that practice was so cool!" she said. Ginny was amazed Bridget was in Ravenclaw. She sounded like an airhead.

"Quidditch is like that," Harry said to her.

"Hi, er, Ginny, right?" Bridget asked Ginny.

"Yeah. And you're Bridget, right?" Ginny asked. She didn't want to sound mean.

"You're a great flyer, you know. Almost as good as Harry, even!" Ginny was almost flattered by her compliment, but then remembered that this was the girl who was flirting with _her_ Harry.

"Thanks," she said, resisting the urge to shout at her to shut up, you stupid unofficial boyfriend stealer.

The three of them walked back to the castle, Bridget babbling on about how "awesome" Quidditch was, and how she wished she could play it. Harry even offered to teach her.

"Wow! Really? I would love that so much!" Ginny was amazed on how she seemed to have the personality and intellectual range as that of a nine year old.

As they came to the Ravenclaw common room entrance, Bridget pulled Harry into a hug, and said goodbye to Ginny. The two of them headed back to their own house in silence for a few minutes.

"What was that?" Ginny asked Harry about two minutes later.

"What was what?"

"That hug."

"Oh. It was nothing. Just a hug between friends."

"I didn't know you were friends."

"We, er, just met earlier today."

"So then what was it?"

"I already told you. It was nothing." They reached the Fat Lady, and Harry gave the password.

_Nothing as opposed to what,_ Ginny thought, as they entered the common room. She headed for the girl's showers, where she turned the water on hot, and let it stream over her body, in which emotions of all sort were beginning to run wild. She knew something was going to happen. Just not between she and Harry. Ginny tried convincing herself that Harry and Bridget were going to turn into nothing, but she found it hard to believe. He looked happy when he was talking to her. But they had just met that day, he couldn't be sure of feelings so soon. But maybe he could. She was sure of her feelings for him the moment she saw him, and they hadn't even spoken yet. What was going to happen to them? But there was no them. And right now, the prospect of "them" didn't look too hopeful. Another lesson of love became clear to her: it hurts.


	5. Just Friends

Chapter 5: Just Friends

Chapter Summary: Despite Ginny's true feelings, she and Harry are just friends. She thinks she is fine with it, until she secretly finds out that Harry and his new friend Bridget are a lot closer than she thought. Now Ginny needs to learn how to accept the fact that she and Harry are just friends all over again.

September had gone almost as quickly as it had come. Autumn was now upon them, bringing with it brisk air and many rain-filled days. Ginny's teachers had taken full advantage of the damp weather, loading the students with so much homework that practically all of Ginny's spare time was spent working in the library.

The bad weather made Quidditch practice rough, but their first match was quickly approaching, and they needed to have all the time to condition as possible. Harry tried to keep practice regular, but with the heavy homework loads and the current wet season, he had to limit practice to only Saturdays and Sundays. This didn't bother Ginny. She barely had enough room in her head for her own thoughts let alone adding Quidditch to the pile.

When Ginny wasn't doing homework or practicing, she liked to think about her favorite subject: Harry. He almost seemed like a project to her; she learned new things about her feelings for him all the time, and things she needed to work at to bring out his true feelings for her. After a brief depression stage after believing Harry and his new friend Bridget could quite possibly become an item, she was better. Ginny had not seen them together, nor heard him speak about her. This made Ginny come to the conclusion that they were nothing, and that the little suffering she did was over just that-nothing. But she had learned from it.

Currently, Ginny and Harry were friends. Close friends. He told her things, and she told him things. They let each other in. Ginny was content with their friendship. Yes, she loved him more than a friend, but she also loved being around him. And if being with him meant being with him as a friend, she could handle it. For now, at least. So Ginny kept her true feelings locked deep in her heart, trying to contain the urge to really be with Harry until they both were ready.

Every so often Ginny would send Harry a little connotation of a flirt, just to see how he would respond to it. This helped her determine how things were between them. If he would flirt back, she knew things were moving in the right direction. If he didn't, she needed to back up some, and regain what she had lost.

Ginny knew that Harry truly loved her. If he didn't, why was he always so patient with her? When they were together, Harry just seemed to understand her. Ginny felt like she was loved when she was with him. She hoped he was feeling the same with her. Sometimes she would wonder why he didn't show her any other displays of affection, other than trying to kiss her that one night. But as she was, Harry too was probably discovering the secrets to this thing called love.

On what seemed like the first dry Saturday of the month, the Gryffindor Quidditch team was to face Hufflepuff. It was the second game of the season, and first for Gryffindor. The team had practiced as much as they could, and Ginny knew they were ready. She woke up that morning with excitement brewing inside her. She was familiar with this feeling; she got it before each game. She ate breakfast with the team this morning so they could discuss any last minute changes. After they were finished, they headed back to the common room for a break before they headed to the Quidditch pitch.

Ginny noticed Harry was getting his things ready rather early on. She knew he liked to get down to the fields before everyone else, but not normally this early.

"Why are you getting ready so soon? The match doesn't start for another hour," Ginny asked him.

"I know," Harry replied. "I just want to relax my nerves a bit before the game. Flying helps." Seven years of playing Quidditch and the best Seeker at Hogwarts, and he still got nervous. Some things never change.

"Do you want any company?" Ginny asked. She would be more than willing to go along with him.

"Nah. I'll just go by myself, thanks," he said to her, and with it, left.

Ginny pondered for a moment. It wasn't like him to ever leave so early, even if it was because of nerves. Actually, now that she thought about it, he had been disappearing places a lot lately. He would leave the common room, or Great Hall, and then about an hour later turn up again. Whenever she or Hermione or Ron asked what he was doing, he would just reply, "nothing," and shrugged it off.

Now Ginny was curious. She wanted to know what he was really up to. She left the common room, and then hurried down the stairs, and out of the castle. Ginny trudged through the muddy law to the Quidditch pitch, making sure Harry wouldn't spot her. She definitely didn't want him to think she was spying on him. She inched closer, and made her way as close to the field as she could, where she hid behind one of the stands.

Harry was alone right now, but obviously waiting for somebody. He didn't mount his broom, but rather looked around, to see if anybody was coming. Finally, Ginny heard him say, "hey" to somebody. She looked to see who it was. Her heart dropped like lead as she watched.

Ginny stood there, frozen, as she watched Bridget embrace Harry in a long, hard kiss. After what seemed like an eternity, they broke apart, and Bridget spoke.

"We have to stop meeting in secret like this. My friends are beginning to get suspicious."

"I don't think I'm ready yet. People might talk."

"People will always talk. But that doesn't matter." Harry nodded, and kissed her once more.

Ginny was confused. She thought she was okay with them being friends until they were more, but now the prospect of more seemed black. Her heart was shattering to pieces, and tears were welling in her eyes. She needed to get back to the castle.

The pain she felt was so much more intense than the last time. But Ginny knew she had to pull out of it. Harry couldn't see her like this. He would ask her what was wrong, and she would have to lie. She couldn't lie to Harry. That meant she would need to tell him how she felt, and she was not ready to do that, especially not after what she had just witnessed.

Ginny ran through the castle as quick as she could, rushing to the common room, then rushing more to her bed. She lied and cried for a little while, while letting the harsh reality sink in. She and Harry were friends. No more, no less, just friends. And that was all they were going to be.

Ginny wiped away her tears, and realized the time. The game started in ten minutes. She should've been down in the team lockers by now. _Pull yourself together. This is what's happening, and there is nothing you can do about it. You can't let him see you like this,_ she thought to herself. She then scrambled out as fast as she could to the field.

"Where were you?" Ron asked her furiously as she stumbled into the team's locker room.

"S-sorry," she gasped, "I was in my room and didn't realize what time it was." Ginny pulled on her robes, and looked to Harry who was talking to Joni and Colin. He then turned to her.

"Finally you're here. We almost thought you weren't going to make it." Ginny nodded, but couldn't look at him in the eyes. It would reveal too much.

The team now filed out through the locker room to the field, where the Hufflepuffs were already lined up.

"Mount your brooms," Madam Hooch directed, and then blew her whistle.

The game was action packed. Hufflepuff had a good team, but not good enough. Ginny scored five goals, and Ron saved all but three. Harry caught the snitch when Gryffindor was ahead 90 to 30. It was an easy but triumphant win, but Ginny was more than happy it was over. She didn't want any attention from her teammates or housemates; she just wanted to be alone with her thoughts.

Ginny went to her dormitory by herself while the rest of the house stayed in the common room and commemorated the win. When Ginny wasn't found celebrating with the rest of the house, Hermione found her and asked her what was wrong.

"Why aren't you celebrating?" she asked, "You did so great today, the team wants to see you!" Ginny looked down at her bed.

"What's the matter?" Hermione asked again.

"Nothing. I don't feel well. I guess breakfast didn't agree with me."

"Oh. Well. If you feel like coming down, we're having a great time." Hermione turned to leave. It must have been fun, because Hermione hardly ever joined in the house parties. "Are you sure there's nothing else wrong? Because you know I'm always here if you need to talk to somebody" Hermione offered before she left the dormitory.

Ginny smiled meekly. She loved Hermione during times like this. She was always more than willing to help out a friend. Ginny would have to lie to her, and hated herself for it. But as much as she wanted to inform Hermione what was wrong, telling her what she saw would expose the secret Harry wanted kept quiet, and Ginny would respect that. It would also mean confessing her feelings about Harry, although knowing Hermione, she already knew this, but Ginny wasn't going to take any chances.

"No," Ginny shook her head, "I'm sure nothing's wrong." Hermione smiled and left the dormitory.

Ginny took in a wavering sigh. She really needed to think. Obviously, Harry had been disappearing to meet with Bridget, probably ever since that day she saw them together at the field. Now how long would it be until they made their relationship public? A warm tear ran down Ginny's cheek, and landed on her pillow. _It doesn't make sense,_ she thought, _he has to feel the same way about me, he just has to. He's confused. He needs to be sure what he feels for me is real, so he's testing other girls. _Ginny remembered how he held Bridget, and sobbed again. She had always wished Harry would hold her that way. _Unless,_ she thought, _unless he really doesn't feel the same way about me._ With that thought, she immersed herself into her pillow and cried. She would stay like this for the rest of the afternoon, and night.

As Ginny slept, she dreamt. She dreamt she and Harry were together. They were happy, and in love, more in love than anybody could imagine. When Ginny left school, they were married. Still, they were in love. Nothing seemed like it could ever go wrong. They grew older, and started a family. This made their already strong love even more enduring. Until it happened. Ginny dreamt that she saw Harry cheating on her. With Bridget. She was devastated. When Ginny asked how long it had been going on, Harry said the whole time they had been together. Ginny screamed at him that the whole relationship was a lie, and that nothing could ever change it now. Then she woke up, crying again. In a way, Harry had been cheating on her. Ginny knew they weren't together, but she couldn't help feeling like she had been betrayed. She closed her eyes again, and fell back asleep.

Ginny woke up the next morning not remembering the dream, but thinking of how she imagined things would always turn out. She always thought she and Harry would end up together. Even if they had just started out as friends, their relationship would blossom into real love. Ginny never imagined another girl coming into the picture. Bridget was now the one thing that stood between where Ginny was, and where she needed to be, and Ginny hated her for it. Because of Bridget, she and Harry would be friends, no suggestions of more, just friends. Ginny would need to learn all over again to accept that. But no matter what happened, Ginny knew she would always love Harry, even if he would never know.

**A/N:** Don't forget to leave a review! I hope you liked it!


	6. The Start of Something New

Chapter 6: The Start of Something New

Chapter summary: Ginny is working through her pain when she discovers she really can go on with she and Harry being no more than close friends. Ginny also receives an invitation to the Halloween Hogsmeade trip from somebody she had no idea had feelings for her. Could this be the start of something, and someone, new in her life?

It had been a little over a week since Ginny had seen Harry and Bridget together, that the two had decided to make their relationship public. In a way, Ginny was glad she had seen them before they came out. It gave her a longer time to recuperate. But she also didn't want to waste time feeling sorry for herself. It was, after all, her own fault it wasn't she and Harry together instead of Bridget. Ginny had surprised herself, and managed to pick up the pieces faster than she thought she would. She still moved along in strides, though. She could now tolerate Harry speaking about Bridget without cringing in front of him, and was able to talk to him like nothing was different between them. Ginny had to, or else risk him finding out how she felt about him.

Harry and Bridget had become Hogwarts' new "It" couple. The halls were filled with "ooh look how adorable they are" and "they are just the cutest couple!" every time they would pass together in the hallways. Ron too had taken great jubilance in Harry's no longer single status.

"My boy Harry's finally getting the action he deserves. And by action, I mean not the type on the Quidditch field!" he announced with admiration one evening in the common room.

"Here, here," Seamus added, raising his fist to Harry.

"So," Dean asked him slyly, "have you guys, you know, done it yet?" The group of boys stared down Harry, smirking for an answer.

Ginny, who was reading quietly in the corner, frowned at this. It was Harry's business, not theirs. Plus, she did not want to know what he and Bridget did on their own time. Knowing specifics would likely make her more upset than she already was, and she didn't need any setbacks.

"Sooo," Seamus coaxed Harry for his answer. Harry's cheeks reddened a bit.

"Now come on, men," Ron said, "Harry doesn't have to share if he doesn't want to…But did you Harry? I want every detail." Harry's cheeks reddened more, and he smiled some, shaking his head down.

"Well boys, I think we have an answer," Dean whooped, and the three boys cheered.

"But I didn't say anything," Harry insisted.

"You didn't need to. Actions speak louder than words," Dean smiled to him, patting him on the back. "Good work, mate."

Ginny was now becoming even more distressed that they were still persisting him. Even her own brother was being more immature than normal. She stood up.

"I am appalled at you," Ginny said viciously to the three boys. "If Harry said he didn't do anything with her, he didn't. And even if he did, it's his business, not yours. And if you all are so interested in sex that you have to go to your friends for details, I suggest that you find a girl of your own." With that she strode out of the common room to her dormitory, with all four of the boys looking aghast at what had just happened, especially Ron, who had a flabbergasted, gaping look on his face.

"Are you sure you're with the right girl?" Dean asked Harry a few moments later.

"I—I'm not entirely sure…" Harry answered.

"That's my sister you're talking about," Ron defended, but with a far away, dazed type of tone to him.

Ginny milled around her empty dormitory. It was still semi early, and nobody was up there yet. She sat on her bed. _How could they be so ignorant? _She wondered. But in a way, now they had gotten her curious. What had Harry and Bridget been up to behind closed doors? She shook the thought out of her head. _It's none of my business,_ she reminded herself. But she couldn't help imagining them together. It made her heart hurt thinking about it.

Being friends with Harry was easier than Ginny thought it would be. Since Harry had told the world about he and Bridget, he seemed to be coming to Ginny for more of his problems now, which surprised her. She thought he would be going to Ron or Hermione. Not that she was complaining or anything. Over a period of about two weeks, she and Harry had become incredibly close; about as close as just friends can be, that is. It seemed that when Harry wasn't spending time with Bridget, he was spending it with Ginny, informing her on his daily happenings, relationships questions (which Ginny begrudgingly helped him through), and joking around, as friends do. Ginny really enjoyed his company, and even though a part of her really wanted him, she was glad they were so close as friends.

Halloween was now approaching, as was the Hogsmeade trip that would take place during the day. Ginny was excited, but knew that Harry would be with Bridget that day, and not with her. Before the trip, however, was another Quidditch match, Gryffindor versus Slytherin. The team had taken as much practice time as they could get, so that they could beat their greatest rivals.

The match arrived quickly enough. So, the Saturday before Halloween, the Gryffindor and Slytherin teams faced off. It was a good game, with tight spots here and there. Ginny knew Harry was determined to beat Malfoy, who was quit a good Seeker himself. But, Harry was better, and again, Gryffindor won. At the end of the match, Ginny was taken of guard by a few unexpected turn of events.

After the team had gotten off their brooms, Ginny ran to Harry and gave him a friendly squeeze of congratulants.

"You were brilliant!" she said enthusiastically to him, as a crowd of Gryffindors were making their way to the field.

"Thanks! So were you!" He cheered back. Then, Bridget came up behind him, and greeted him with a long, hard kiss. This made Ginny's stomach turn.

Ginny turned away so as not to disrupt the two's session, when she was confronted by Malfoy. He smirked at her.

"That was some nice flying, Weasley," he leered.

"Thanks," Ginny replied bitterly.

"I think it would be nice if we could practice some moves together some time. You know what I mean?" he said covertly, eying her up and down.

"You know what I think?" Ginny said, moving closer to him, tracing her finger down his chest, "I think you need to go find someone who can give you what you really want. Someone who's as cheap and easy as you are. Someone who can give you all the meaningless love they can. Exactly what you deserve," she poked him hard on the chest.

" Ginny, come on now. You know you can't resist me. I know you want me."

"I don't want anything to do with you!" Ginny yelled at him, and turned away, right into Seamus Finnigan.

"Oh! I'm sorry Seamus I didn't see you. I was—" Seamus smiled at her.

"Was he bothering you?" he asked.

"Well, er, yes, but I've got it under control, really."

"Are you sure? Because I can do something about it if you need my help."

"No, it's fine. I swear." She felt a tap on her should suddenly. It was Bridget.

"Can I have a word, please?" she asked sounding innocent, flipping her hair over her shoulder and batting her eyes at Seamus.

"Erm, sure. Seamus, will you excuse me for a moment?"

"Yeah. I'll catch up with you when you're done."

Bridget seemed to yank Ginny's robes away from Seamus, and she had a nasty glare in her eye.

"So," Bridget said, glaring at her.

"So what?" Ginny asked. She had no idea what this was about.

"You know very well what I'm talking about!"

"No, I don't, really," Ginny said, backing away.

"Don't walk away from me, and don't play dumb. I'm on to you and you're little games."

"What?" Ginny asked again. She was beginning to become confused. _And if she thinks I'm playing dumb,_ she thought, _she obviously hasn't paid much attention to herself lately._ Bridget stared Ginny strait in the eyes.

"Stay away from Harry," she threatened viciously.

"What do you mean? We're friends. We hang out together. That's what friends do, you know," Ginny said.

"Of course I know friends spend time together. But I see the way you look at him. And it's not the way a friend looks at another friend. Do you think I don't notice? Do you think I'm dumb or something?"

_Why yes, actually I do, _Ginny thought. This was making her angry.

"I will look at Harry however I want, thank you very much. He's your boyfriend not your property, so therefore I refuse to treat him like he belongs to you."

"Well he's might as well my property," Bridget stared Ginny down.

"And I'm warning you. If I see you trying to make any sort of move on Harry again, you'll wish you never met either one of us."

"Is that a threat?" Ginny asked her, stepping in closer now, ready to punch her in her pretty little face.

"Yes, I believe it is. You've got my warning. Now get out of my face." Bridget turned to leave, but then looked back at her.

"Besides," Bridget looked Ginny up and down, "What makes you think Harry would ever go for you?" She laughed, and walked back to Harry, who was talking to Ron. What did she mean Harry would never go for a girl like her? He had once, why wouldn't he again. Was she not pretty enough? Ginny stopped thinking about it; it made her upset.

Ginny turned to find Seamus standing a few feet away from her, looking a bit uncomfortable.

"Sorry," Ginny said to him as she walked over to where he was standing.

"No need. But what was that all about anyway?"

"Oh…nothing. Bridget just thinks that…well…never mind it doesn't matter anyway."

"Alright then," Seamus paused.

"You know, you played really well today. Wait, er, I mean, you play well all the time, just really well today against Slytherin and all." Seamus looked to the ground. His cheeks flushed.

"Thanks," Ginny smiled.

"Listen, er, can I, uh, walk you to the castle? I mean, we don't have to, if you don't want, but you know, if you don't want to go alone I'll walk with you," Seamus stumbled through his words. Ginny smiled. He was being really sweet. She looked back at Harry who was deep into kissing Bridget. She turned her head quickly to Seamus.

"I'd like that," she answered.

"Great! I mean, ok then." He tried to smile smoothly at her, which only made Ginny smile wider.

Ginny and Seamus left the stadium, and up to the castle. It was getting colder now that they day was turning later.

"Do you want my coat?" Seamus asked. He must've noticed Ginny rubbing her goose-bumped arms.

"No, but thank you."

"Listen, er, I've been meaning to tell you, but, that day, do you remember, when you stuck up for Harry like that?" Ginny nodded. Where was this going? She thought she had an idea, but wasn't one hundred percent sure.

"Well, the way you took charge of the situation. You really impressed me, and well even before then. But, what I'm trying to say is that I like you Ginny. A lot," Seamus said to her, his cheeks reddening again. He ruffled his hair, and grinned at her. These actions made Ginny think of Harry. He would do that all the time.

"I'm sorry if I just came on to you," he said again.

"No it's fine, really." Ginny smiled back at him, which made him go even redder, now about the shade as her hair.

"I was thinking then, er, if you, um, would want to, maybe, you would like to go to the Hogsmeade trip with me? To hang out?" He looked at her with round, almost pleading eyes.

Ginny thought of Harry. Then of his devil spawn girlfriend that was Bridget. Right now she and Harry weren't an option, so Ginny decided on agreeing to go with Seamus. So he liked her. Not a big deal, right? And it was just a trip to Hogsmeade. She could use something, or someone, to get Harry out of her mind anyway.

"I'd love to go with you," Ginny said sweetly, which made Seamus's face light up with a smile.

"Great! I, er, we can meet outside the castle, then, next Saturday when it's time to leave."

"That would be fine."

The two continued up to the castle, chatting about things. Seamus told Ginny that he had liked her for a while now, but he didn't know how or when to tell her. He said that he thought the Hogsmeade trip would be a perfect opportunity for them to hang out together, and he was glad Ginny had said yes. Seamus also gave her compliments, such as how pretty her eyes were, and how her hair was lovely by the firelight. It really flattered her, and she liked the attention. But it wasn't Harry; so therefore it wasn't all it could have been.

Later that night, while the Gryffindors were celebrating, Ginny found herself alone in her room, again. She planned to join the party, but she needed to think right now. As she lay on her bed, she thought about Seamus. Ginny sincerely had no idea that he had felt that way about her. Harry obviously felt the same, too, not knowing at all how she felt about him. But Ginny was fine with that.

Ginny got up off her bed, and walked over to her mirror. She looked at herself, and Bridget's words began ringing in her ears. _What makes you think Harry would ever go for you? _Ginny had never been concerned about her looks before, mainly because she never had reason to. People always told her that she had a natural beauty, one that didn't need the accent of makeup, like most girls did. And her hair. Ginny thought that was what made her stand out the most. Her hair was her favorite part about her. Long, straight, and glossy, and that fiery scarlet always made new heads turn to her.

Ginny always thought she was pretty. She wasn't conceded, but people would always assure her of her natural glow. But now, Ginny was beginning to notice all her imperfections. She was short; a good two and a half heads shorter than her brother, Ron. She had too many freckles; too many to ever be considered the "cute" kind, at least. She had small hips, and it looked like one of her eyes were bigger than the other. And then there was the fact that she was poor.

No wonder Harry would never go for her. Right now he had Bridget, who was like a goddess on earth. Tall, and super skinny (not that Ginny wasn't skinny; she was just short), with long legs that seemed to glide when she walked, angelic, almost. Bridget's hair was an amazing shade of blonde, which shimmered and sparkled and glowed in every spot. The only imperfect thing about her was her personality.

But why was Ginny complaining and being sulky? Seamus had just told her that he liked her. She should be happy for herself. But she wasn't. Seamus wasn't Harry, and that was the bottom line.

Possibly, now that Ginny was in a sulky mood, she would go to the party. Maybe it would cheer her up. So, Ginny tried putting on her best face, and joined the celebration downstairs, where she immediately ran into Harry.

"There you are! Were have you been?" Harry asked her,

"Just upstairs," she said, her eyes drooping some.

"What's the matter, you look upset?"

"It's…well…I feel ugly." There. She just came right out and said it. A dumbstruck look came onto Harry's face.

"What? Why?" he inquired her.

"I don't know. I just do."

"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. You are the prettiest, most stunning girl I have ever known. That, I can promise you."

"No, you're just saying that to make me feel better."

"Do I look like I'm lying to you? You are beautiful. I mean that." He gave her a sincere smile.

"Thanks, Harry," Ginny answered him. It was times like these when she really loved Harry, even when they were just friends. Deep in her heart though, she pictured herself jumping on him, smothering him with kisses of joy and love and gratitude. Too bad it would never happen.

Ginny turned around and saw Seamus walking towards her, so she decided to go meet him.

"Hi, Seamus," she greeted him.

"Hey Gin," he said, which made Ginny cringe a little. Harry was the only one who ever called her "Gin".

They walked over to the fireplace, and sat down on the couch. They talked, and Ginny found that Seamus's company was rather enjoyable. He was very nice and polite to her, like a real gentleman. Ron and Hermione joined them eventually on their couch. The four talked about the match for a while, when Ginny decided to mingle for a bit before she went to bed, seeing that it was getting late.

Ginny talked to Delaney and Shelby for a while, then Colin, with more about the match. She had just about heard enough of Harry's spectacular diving to get the Snitch when she decided to go to bed. She said her goodnights, and went to her dormitory.

Today had been a long one, both good and bad. Good with Seamus asking her to go to Hogsmeade with him, in which she was now starting to look forward to. Bad with Bridget making that threat to her, but Ginny doubted very much she needed to worry about that one.

As Ginny climbed into bed, she knew she had a long week to look forward to. With Hogsmeade and Halloween coming up, it was no doubt it would be a grueling week of work leading up to an enjoyable weekend. Ginny turned in her covers and closed her eyes. She was thinking about Seamus. Maybe she could grow to like him more than a friend. Maybe.

**A/N: Review and tell me what you think!**


	7. The Date

Chapter 7: The Date

Chapter Summary: Ginny and Seamus go on their first date to Hogsmeade. Seamus asks Ginny to be his girlfriend, and she agrees. But, Ginny begins to wonder if she made the right choice, and worries about loosing Harry.

The week before Halloween was a long one, just as Ginny had suspected. Long, from the work that her teachers seemed to be mounding upon her. Long, from the anticipation she found tiptoeing through her about her upcoming date with Seamus. Ginny was thinking of it as a date now. It had started out as them hanging out just as friends, but now Ginny was thinking that it could be more. So it had evolved to a date.

It wasn't that Ginny was loosing her feelings for Harry. Or maybe it was. No, it definitely wasn't that. She was just trying to take a break from needing him. Ginny would see if things evolved with Seamus, and when Harry and Bridget broke up, she would let it go from there.

It was odd for Ginny. One day would go by with her glad for the change of Seamus, and then another would come with her having a fear of loosing Harry and what she felt for him. But it all came down to that Harry had Bridget, and Ginny needed to take her mind off of that. And if having a boyfriend was the only way to do it, she would need to suck it up and accept it.

Ginny was worried about one thing, though. Harry had unknowingly come in between every one of her previous relationships. She was worried that the same thing might happen if she and Seamus would become serious. Ginny's feelings for Harry always seemed to take center stage when she was in a relationship, and that was how they had all ended so far. She had to try to keep those feelings for him distant in her heart, and ready only when they would be needed. _What am I doing?_ Ginny thought. _Seamus and I aren't even a couple yet. He might discover that he doesn't like me anywhere near as much as he thought he did._ Ginny decided to save her worry for when something actually happened between the two of them.

It was a dreary type of Thursday, and the weather had some what affected Ginny's mood. She had left dinner early, with a claim to start her heap of never ending homework, but instead found herself sitting in front of the fire thinking about what else? Harry. Like always. Ginny's life this week had been full of complications. Confusion of whom to bestow her feelings to, and why she couldn't just say to herself, "I'm seeing Seamus on Saturday. I like him now. Harry can wait." But she couldn't.

Ginny gazed into the fire, contemplating herself, when Harry appeared and sat next to her on her big chair.

"I thought you had homework?" He laughed to her. Ginny jumped in shock. She hadn't seen him come in.

"Lord! You scared me, Harry."

"I can see that. So what about the homework?"

"Oh, yes. My work. It will get done. Eventually."

"What are you thinking about?" His eyes caught hers.

"Nothing. Well, something, really." Ginny lingered on him for a while before looking at the fire again. The flames seemed to dance in his eyes.

"Do you want to tell me?" He smiled softly to her. Ginny bit her lip.

"Well, no, not really. Sorry. It's kind of personal."

"Oh. Alright then." They had an awkward pause. That sort of thing hadn't hit them in a while now.

"I, erm, Seamus told me he asked you to go to Hogsmeade with him on Saturday. You said yes, right?"

"Yeah. I did. I haven't had a relationship in a while, and Seamus is sweet." Ginny looked into Harry's eyes. Some part of them seemed longing and thwarted. She wanted to know why.

"He likes you a lot, you know. He had been talking about you so much, at one point I said to him, 'Why don't you just ask her out?'" So it was Harry who had told Seamus to ask her to Hogsmeade. A part of Ginny seemed to fall down. Ginny forced a smile.

"Oh. Well I'm glad you pushed him in the right direction."

Harry watched her. Ginny couldn't figure out what he was feeling right now. The look in his eyes was so deep. They appeared to be regretting something, something big. Was she not the only one feeling remorse at this time?

"Ginny! Ginny over here," Seamus called to her, as Ginny walked out of the castle doors. She greeted him with a hug and a warm smile.

"Are you ready to go?" Ginny asked him.

"Yes, let's," Seamus answered.

The two walked down the dirt path to the school gate's in silence. Ginny knew the first few minutes were always a bit uncomfortable, but she did hope he would say something soon.

"So…" Seamus said, breaking the silence.

"So…" Ginny said back. This was going nowhere. Neither one of them knew what to say.

"It's a nice day," Seamus tried to rouse the conversation.

"Yeah…" Ginny replied. She was being distant, she knew, but she didn't know anyway else to be.

"Did you have a good week? We didn't really get to see each other much." Seamus tried again.

"It was…long. I had a lot of work."

"Me too. All of the teachers are trying to prepare us for our N.E.W.T.s already, so we've basically been swamped since the second day of school." Ginny smiled at his efforts to keep her interested. Seamus was trying to impress her already, she could tell, and she wasn't making it any easier for him. So Ginny decided to lighten up a bit. But a part of her still felt as if she was breaking some unwritten code against Harry.

"So what do you want to do?" Seamus asked Ginny as they entered Hogsmeade.

"Whatever you want. I don't care, really."

"Er, ok. How about we walk around a while, then we can get something to eat, then we can walk around some more?"

"Sounds alright to me," Ginny said. She wanted to be agreeable today.

They walked around Hogsmeade together, chatting and running into friends, and then talking to them, then walking some more. At one point of the day, after leaving Honeyduke's, Ginny felt Seamus's hand grazing her own. Their hands intertwined, and Ginny felt some sort of heat pulse through her body. Was that a good thing?

Ginny and Seamus, now walking hand in hand, ran into Harry and Bridget as they were heading to the Three Broomsticks for lunch. Ginny couldn't figure out if she wanted to see Harry or not, but now that he was standing in front of her, she really had no choice.

"Hey Ginny, Seamus," Harry said pleasantly to the two of them.

"Harry," Ginny paused, hesitant to acknowledge Bridget, but now wanting to sound rude, "and Bridget." She added curtly. Bridget glared at her like broken glass.

"I see you've found a new catch. Good for you," she said wickedly, bouncing her head some.

"Yes, it is good for me, isn't it," Ginny snapped back, sending her dagger eyes along with it. Just seeing Bridget made her nauseous, and she didn't need words spewing from her vile mouth to make it any worse. Harry tried to break up the fight just waiting to happen.

"So, are you guys having a good time?" he asked Ginny and Seamus.

"Yes, we are. We were just heading to the Three Broomsticks for a bite to eat," Seamus explained.

"We just came from there. Shame we didn't see you guys earlier, we would've asked you to join us," Harry looked to Bridget.

"Yes, shame, really. Can we get going now, Harry?" Bridget whined, burying her face into Harry's neck. This was the act of a five year old if Ginny had ever seen one. Bridget gave Harry another pouty look, which made Ginny want to vomit.

"I guess we should get going," Harry said, as Bridget's eyes lit up at the words of "get going".

"Finally! I thought we would be here all day! And we're holding them up from they're meal. The poor girl's probably starving." This made Ginny want to pounce. Was that a comment regarding her money status?

"I, er, we'll see you guys around later," Harry tried saying through a pulling Bridget.

"Bye, Harry," Ginny said, which made Bridget's eyes narrow with anger. She pulled Harry away, and left Seamus and Ginny standing there. Ginny was having an enjoyable day, and that had completely ruined it.

"Let's go, Seamus," she muttered to him. "I'm starving." Seamus followed along, looking confused.

"That's the second time I've seen you two throwing each other looks. Do you have some sort of thing going on?"

"You could say that," Ginny said bitterly. She was not in the mood to be explaining anything right now.

They entered the Tree Broomsticks, and found a table next to a window. They sat down, and Ginny watched the people outside walk by. Two of them happened to be Ron and Hermione. Seeing them together made Ginny laugh. They had to be the only two people left in the world that hadn't yet seen that they were meant for each other.

"I can't believe they aren't together yet," Seamus said, as he watched them walk by.

"Me, either," replied Ginny. "They've got to figure it out sometime, though. They can't go living their days without even realizing that their soul mate is standing next to them."

A waitress came to the table asking for their orders. Ginny was hungry, but didn't want to order anything too large in fear of scaring Seamus off. A little while later their food came, and Seamus and Ginny went through light conversation and eating. They left the Three Broomsticks about and an hour later, full from their food, but ready to walk it off.

The remainder of the afternoon was spent by wandering the streets and continuing to get to know one another better. During this, Ginny found that she really did like Seamus. He was very nice and easy to talk to. Seamus listened to what she had to say, and sounded generally interested in her life. Ginny liked that quality of him.

"I'm glad you asked me to come with you today," Ginny told Seamus sincerely.

"I'm glad I asked you, too," Seamus replied to her. She laughed.

The day was ending, as was Ginny and Seamus's first date. The two walked back to the Hogwarts grounds, holding hands again. They were soon at the castle doors, where they stopped.

"I had a great time with you today," Seamus told Ginny.

"So did. I mean, with you." She laughed.

"So, I er…Maybe you would want to, er, you know, um, be my girlfriend?" he asked her nervously.

Ginny was somewhat shocked. Half of her was expecting him to ask her this, however the other half was not, because it was only the first date. But she knew what she was going to do.

"I'd love to be," Ginny replied, though silently hoping she was making the right decision.

"O—ok," Seamus said, sounding a little taken aback that she had said yes. Then, to Ginny's surprise, he leaned over, and lightly kissed her on the cheek. Ginny found it to be a charming gesture. It showed he was willing for them to move on as a couple, but not too eager to do anything.

Seamus walked Ginny inside, where he went to dinner, and she went to the common room. Ginny wasn't really hungry, anyway. And it wasn't like she was missing anything; Halloween was tomorrow. She found her normal chair by the fire, the one that she had been occupying a lot more lately. Ginny sighed. Had she made the right decision? _Yes,_ she thought. _I made the right choice. I need somebody right now, somebody who's not Harry,_ Ginny tried to convince herself. But it wasn't working. The fact of the matter was that even though she did like Seamus, deep in Ginny's heart, she knew that she was almost using him. Ginny hated admitting it to herself because it made her sound like an awful person, but it was the truth.

Ginny sat alone for a while, alone with her thoughts, when a few Gryffindors entered the common room from dinner. Ginny glanced up, to find Harry standing above her.

"Missed you at dinner," he said to her.

"Yeah…I wasn't hungry. Where are Ron and Hermione?"

"Still down there."

"Hmm."

"Can I sit down?"

"Sure." Ginny scooted over, and Harry joined her on the overlarge chair.

"Seamus told me he asked you to be his girlfriend, and that you said yes," Harry said to her. Ginny looked at him, and noticed that same somber look in his eyes was back. The same look of disillusionment that was present the last time they had been sitting there together. Ginny nodded in reply.

Harry looked at her again. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Ginny saw him sigh, and then open his mouth again. He seemed to stumbling with his words. Harry did that a lot when he got nervous. But what was there to be nervous about?

"Gin?"

"Yeah?"

"I, uh, well…" Harry trailed off.

"Sorry, I didn't catch that," Ginny said, wondering what he had wanted to say.

"What I'm trying to say is that I…I, erm…I wanted to, but, uh…" He stopped again. Ginny nodded at him to continue. _Go on_, _please,_ Ginny thought. Was he going where she though he was? Her heart was beating with excitement.

"That's good for the two of you. You and Seamus, I mean." So that was what Harry had to say? It took that much energy to say it was good for she and Seamus?

"Uhuh…" Ginny was tired. And now rather disappointed.

Ginny took in a deep breath. So much of her wanted to take Harry's hand in her own. She wondered if he was feeling the same thing, judging by his eyes. Was that what he really wanted to tell her, that he was glad for Seamus and her? Ginny had a feeling it wasn't.

Ginny leaned her head on Harry's shoulder out of impulse. He didn't say anything, instead leaning his head atop hers. If Ginny had her way, they would stay like this forever. He wouldn't have to go back to Bridget, and she wouldn't need to be confused about her feelings. _Harry,_ she thought, _why am I afraid to loose you when you aren't even mine?_ It was serene and perfect, the two of them by the fire. Nothing happened. It was just them. And Ginny knew that was how it needed to be.

**A/N: I hope you liked it! Expect a new chapter soon!**


	8. Lies and Secrets

**A/N: I've had a few questions about what is taking place during the present time of Ginny's flashback, so I've decided to clear some things up in case anybody is terribly confused, and I'm sorry I didn't earlier.**

**This whole fic (with the exception of the first chapter and the very last chapters) is a flashback. There aren't any places where Ginny goes back to the present; she's reliving the year with Harry. It's got the same idea behind it as the whole 'you see your life flash by you whenyou almost die' type thing, but it's a lot moredetailed. So yes, Harry is still dying throughout all of these chapters, but we won't see himin that scene again for a while.I've been writing this story since last February, and I have 20 chapters written, so there's not much I can do to fix anything, so if you're unhappy with how the fic is turning out, I'm really sorry. I hope that cleared things up for any of you who were confused! Happy reading!**

Chapter 8: Lies and Secrets

Chapter Summary: Ginny and Seamus have been a couple for only a day, when already Ginny's emotions for Harry seem to be interrupting the relationship, and Seamus notices. Ginny is forced to pull their budding relationship into an even deeper pool of lies, and goes through many different types of feelings. Malfoy also decides to take a more forceful approach into getting what he wants…

Word of Ginny and Seamus's new relationship had spread around the school like rapid-fire. On the morning of Halloween, Ginny was sitting at breakfast when she counted at least seven people come up to her congratulating her about her new boyfriend.

"I just thought I'd tell you," Blythe Alexandre said to her that morning at breakfast, "that I think you two are the sweetest thing at Hogwarts since Harry and Bridget! I wish you two the best of luck!"

"Er, thanks?" Ginny said in reply. Blythe acted as if they were getting married. She then scurried off, full of energy; probably to tell people the Ginny and Seamus were planning their wedding.

"News travels fast, doesn't it?" This time it was Seamus who sat next to her, planting a small kiss on her cheek. Ginny blushed some, and said hello. She noticed something out of the corner of her eye, though. It was Harry. He was observing Seamus in a way Ginny had not ever seen him do. Was it jealousy? _Of course not,_ Ginny thought, _He's got Bridget._ But she couldn't help but wonder.

Halloween was tonight, and there was talk that Dumbledore had planned a magnificent feast with entertainment and everything. The Great Hall had already been decorated with giant pumpkins from Hagrid's garden, and enchanted bats were hovering by the ceiling, along with black and orange streamers, which lined the hall.

Breakfast ended, and she and Seamus decided to take a walk outside. It was a beautiful day for October, brisk but not too cold. The two walked around the grounds, talking pleasantly to each other. Ginny liked the idea of having a boyfriend sometimes. She could tell him things that were on her mind. Of course, there were some things that Seamus would never be able to find out.

"So then Goyle's potion shattered on his foot, causing it to sprout wings. The potion wasn't even supposed to give its user flight!" Seamus told Ginny about the other day's exciting potions class.

"His foot flapped around and tried to take off, but you know Goyle; his enormousness wouldn't let it," Seamus continued. Ginny laughed. She wished she had been there to see this. She imagined it would've been funnier to see in person, though.

The two were walking along the edge of the Forbidden Forest when Seamus suddenly stopped without warning.

"Ginny?" he asked her.

"Yes?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course…" Ginny replied, wondering what else there was to be asked.

"Er, well, I just noticed that…well…Do you have some sort of feelings for Harry?" Ginny's heart skipped a beat. _Can Seamus really see through me that well?_

"N—no! Of course not! We're friends! What makes you think that?" Lie number one.

"Well, I er, I see how you look at him sometimes," Seamus told her.

_Enough with the way I look at him, _Ginny thought. The subject was making her a bit touchy, but Ginny knew she couldn't let her temper get the best of her in front of Seamus. Ginny needed to save it for something more anger-worthy. Like Bridget.

"And it seems like you might be jealous of Bridget, and well, maybe you are just seeing me to spite Harry and make him jealous." Ginny's heart was pounding.

"I promise you I have no feelings for Harry. Other than the kind friends have for each other, that is." Lie number two. "Why do you think I said yes to you? I like you, Seamus." Lie number three. "I would never go out with somebody to make another person jealous." _I'd go out with them to take my mind off the person I really have feelings for, and the jealous part would be an added bonus._ But the thought was making her feel awful.

"Alright. I was just checking. Not that I doubted you. Ok, maybe I did. I just wanted to make sure we're together for the right reasons. We'll still early enough on to break up without any real mess. And I don't want to be in a relationship based on lies."

"Me either," Ginny said. That was lie number four. So far, the whole one-day relationship had been based on lies. But Seamus couldn't know that. And he was already suspicious.

"Good." He stopped, looked her directly in the eyes, and kissed her. For real. On the lips. Ginny kissed back; he was a good kisser. But she felt nothing. No sparks. No romance. She knew she could only ever feel that if it were she and Harry.

Ginny hated lying to Seamus, she truly did. He was such a kind, honest person who didn't deserve what Ginny was giving him. She knew she was being a bad girlfriend, even only after one day. Ginny also knew that if this was how things were beginning, it was unfortunately going to get worse. _If only I could change how I felt, I would, _she thought, as she and Seamus walked back to the castle. _I'm sorry I'm such a bad girlfriend, I promise I'll try and change and make this work out. For you, and for me. I need this as much as you do._

Ginny and Seamus parted ways around noon. Ginny had Quidditch practice at one o'clock, but she wanted to do some flying before to help clear her head. Ginny gathered her broom, and headed to the pitch. She was hoping she would be early enough that nobody would be down there yet, not even Harry. Ginny walked to the edge of the field, were she then mounted her broom, and pushed up into the cool autumn air.

Flying did an amazing thing for Ginny. She could clear her head, or think about anything that was bothering her. Flying seemed to make everything stressful go away, so Ginny could think about it without added weight. Today, Ginny needed to full on confront her feelings, and make up her mind.

Ginny was on what appeared to be an emotional roller coaster. She couldn't make up her mind on what feel for whom. Ginny loved Harry; there was no question about that. But again, as she had told herself so many other times, Harry was currently involved with Bridget. Ginny also found herself liking Seamus more and more every time they were together. He was just so sweet and there was nothing she could do to make herself not like him. Ginny was glad she liked Seamus and that they were together, but at the same time, she still loved and wanted Harry, and was afraid to loose her feelings for him. This made Ginny feel bad about her relationship with Seamus, and brought her back to how she had really only decided to go out with him to get her mind off of Harry.

_My life is far too complicated right now,_ Ginny sighed. She really had no idea on what to do, except what she had been doing already. That was to continue with Seamus, like him, but still love Harry, and pray that Seamus wouldn't have any more suspicions about Ginny's true feelings. Ginny wanted to scream at everything she was facing, telling it to go away, but it wouldn't go away no matter what and she needed to deal with it. Ginny pulled her broom into a steep incline, and then rushed down in a dive. This made her feel better. The rush of wind in her hair washed away her plights.

"Ginny!" Ginny was quickly brought back to reality at the sound of her name, and pulled out of her dive.

"Ginny!" Ginny looked down to see Harry staring up at her. She grounded herself, and proceeded to greet Harry.

"Hi, Harry," Ginny said to him as she dismounted her broom. "I'm sorry I didn't hear you the first time you called. I was…" Ginny looked up to the sky.

"I know how you feel. It happens to me every time I'm flying," Harry told her. Ginny smiled at him. Harry had a way about him that was the same as flying. He could make Ginny feel like she had no cares in the world.

"I'm surprised to see you out here so early," Harry said to Ginny as they walked to the middle of the pitch.

"Why is that?" Ginny asked him.

"Well I thought you'd be off with Seamus somewhere."

"I was already 'off with Seamus somewhere' today," Ginny told him with a touch of mischief in her voice.

Ginny was prepared for a reply such as, "Doing what?" or something similar, and was thinking of a smart comeback. Thus was surprised when Harry said a simple, "Oh." Ginny bit her bottom lip.

"Well I would have thought you would be spending time with Bridget. Or at least brought her along with you to practice."

"Nah," Harry replied.

"Nah to what?"

"Nah to bringing her along. And to spending time with her, actually." Ginny was shocked. Harry say no to being with Bridget? Had they—

"Have you broken up with her?" The words seemed to spill out of Ginny's mouth.

"No. But she has some idea in her head, are you ready for this? That we, as in you and me, have something going on behind her back," Harry told her incredulously.

"How ironic," Ginny told him, "because Seamus seems to believe the same thing."

"I told Bridget that we don't have 'anything' going on between us, and that we're just friends."

"I told Seamus the same."

"But does he believe you?"

"Of course, why wouldn't he believe the truth?" Ginny asked. _The unfortunate truth, though, _Ginny added silently to herself.

"Because Bridget doesn't believe me. She thinks that you have me hypnotized or something." Ginny laughed. She couldn't get over the fact of how incredibly dumb Bridget was.

"And this girl's in Ravenclaw, why?" Ginny asked, sounding slightly obnoxious. Harry gave her a look. "Sorry," Ginny muttered. She had not meant to offend him.

"Anyway, Bridget also told me that I need to stay away from you. I told her that you were in my house and we played Quidditch together. The chance of having no contact with each other is zero."

"Right."

"I still can't believe she thought we were sneaking behind her back. I really thought she trusted me. I tried telling her that if you really wanted me, you would have tried getting me by now."

Ginny really did want him, though. Why hadn't she tried going for Harry? Right. A little thing called Bridget had stood in her way. Of course Ginny could have had something with Harry, recalling the almost kiss they shared at the beginning of the year. Harry obviously felt _something_ for her then, why shouldn't he still feel the same for her now? What if Bridget really was just a way to make Ginny jealous? And if Harry wasn't thinking about her, he wouldn't have brought up the fact that they would probably be together now if Ginny would have just done something about it. If Ginny weren't with Seamus, she would have told Harry that she was planning on doing something about getting him right about then.

Ginny tried her best to put her guilty feelings aside and to enjoy herself at the Halloween Feast that evening. She knew she would have to get used to her being with Seamus, anyway, so what better place to start? Though still in the back of her head was the fear of loosing Harry.

Ginny and Seamus talked with the other Gryffindors, many of whom were excited to see another couple around the castle. Seamus seemed eager to talk about "them"; Ginny however, put on a happy act, but didn't really want to talk about "them". They had been going out for a day. There wasn't much of "them" to talk about.

Ginny soon became tired of the relationship talks, and tuned herself out of the conversation. Ginny's eyes wandered to Harry, who was casually talking with Ron. Harry noticed Ginny, and grinned at her. Ginny felt her cheeks redden, and smiled back. She started to feel the warmness inside that Harry always seemed to give her, when she looked over to Seamus. He smiled at Ginny, and put his arm around her. Ginny looked back at Harry, then to Seamus again. Her guilt was beginning to resurface itself again. It hit Ginny big time, too. Ginny decided that she could not sit with Seamus if Harry was going to be near them, and resolved that she would leave the feast early to prevent herself from feeling anymore unwanted emotions. Ginny turned to Seamus.

"I think I'm going to head up to the common room," Ginny told him.

"Really? Why? Aren't you having a good time?"

"Oh, yes, lovely, really. But I'm beginning to get a headache. I had a long day at practice and now I'm quite tired," Ginny told him, trying to sound as formal and polite as possible.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Seamus asked her, sounding concerned.

"Oh, no. You stay here and have a good time."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely." Ginny smiled at Seamus, and he gave her a small peck on the cheek, which caused many "aw's" from the people surrounding them.

With that, she left the feast and headed for the Gryffindor common room. A part of her felt a little bad. This was the third time this week she had missed or left dinner early, and already the second she had left Seamus by himself. But it seemed like as soon as she felt bad about leaving Seamus, her mindset decided to change itself.

It seemed like with a flick of a switch her mood changed, and now Ginny was being selfish and feeling bad for herself. _So I'm not the best girlfriend, _Ginny thought. _But there are other things on my mind…_Her thoughts were knocked off course by a figure looming out from a shadowed wall. She stopped, wondering what it was. Then, to Ginny's great displeasure, it showed itself.

"I was waiting for you," Malfoy said to her, coming out of the darkness.

"What do _you_ want?" Ginny asked him with disgust.

"Now, now, girl. No need to get touchy. I've just been waiting for you. I knew you'd be leaving early."

"Are you stalking me now?" Ginny asked him in disbelief. "I'd appreciate it if you'd get out of my way." Ginny tried moving past him, but he blocked her.

"Not before I have a word with you," Malfoy drawled. Ginny looked to her feet, and began drumming one on the ground impatiently.

"Fine. I'll let you talk if you let me move."

"Agreed," Malfoy said. He smirked at her, his silvery eyes catching the firelight, but not taking in the heat. This was unlike Harry's, which glowed with warmth when they were near the fire.

"And please, call me Draco. We're on a first name basis now, Ginny," he added wryly. Malfoy looked at her for a moment, his eyes scanning her closely.

"So? What do you want then, _Draco_?" Ginny asked him, becoming even more annoyed.

"You," he said plainly.

"Excuse me?" Ginny said. She was beginning to feel highly revolted.

"I want you. Right now. I'm tired of waiting. I've put my feelings for you out here in the open, and now it's time for you to do the same," Malfoy said, as he stepped closer to her.

"What feelings? The only feelings I have for you are feelings of extreme repulsion! I can't believe you have the audacity to come to me like this! I loathe you _Malfoy_. Everything about you! Don't come near me again, I swear if you do—"

"You'll do what?" he interrupted her. "Get Finnigan to come after me? Oh I'm shaking now! There's another thing! You picked Finnigan over me? A _halfblood_? Disgusting."

"I would pick _anyone _over you!" Ginny said viciously to him, through clenched teeth.

"I've had enough of your fooling around Weasley, let's go. Now." Malfoy grabbed Ginny's arm and began pulling her down the dark corridor.

"What are you doing?" Ginny gasped at him in horror.

"I told you what I want and I am going to get it. Now come _on,_" he pulled at her harder, and Ginny struggled to break free of his grip.

"GET OFF OF ME!" Ginny screamed at him, writhing to free herself from his ever-tightening grasp.

"You're not making this any easier," Malfoy whispered in her ear, still pulling at her.

"LET GO OF ME, YOU VERMIN!" Ginny pulled as hard as she could, breaking his clasp, and running to the top of the stairs as fast as she could.

"I get everything I want," Malfoy sneered at her from below. "Remember that. This isn't over." He disappeared into the darkness once again.

Ginny ran to the Gryffindor common room, fighting back tears as she came to the Fat Lady.

"J-Jack-o-lantern," she stuttered to the Fat Lady, who swung open immediately.

She found her way to her chair in front of the fire, in which she had been occupying a lot lately. Ginny put her head in her hands as tears leaked from her eyes. _What was he thinking?_ she thought, regarding Malfoy. Ginny felt extremely shaken up by the event, and was sobbing more rapidly, now Ginny wiped her face, and decided to go to bed before anybody got back from the feast. She didn't want anybody to see her, or ask her what was wrong. Ginny didn't want to lie about it, either. She had done enough lying for one day.


	9. Breaking Down

Chapter 9: Breaking Down

Chapter Summary: Ginny can't handle herself anymore. She is dealing with too much, and her feelings for Harry are the core of it. Ginny doesn't know how to handle it, and a simple conversation with Harry turns into a full out crash for Ginny. She knows she has to do something about it, but what?

November was now upon the castle. The weeks subsequent to Halloween had slipped by rather quickly. Nothing extremely notable had happened since Halloween, and the only people who even knew about that were Ginny and Malfoy. It kept Ginny shaken for a few days later, but soon, her other burdens began taking a heavy toll on her state of mind. Though every time she would see Malfoy, her stomach would become upset and her knees would get weak.

Ginny and Seamus were still together, but Seamus did seem to be watching out more for her lately. Now, when Ginny would be talking to Harry, Seamus would stand near by, sometimes even putting himself into the conversation. Ginny occasionally found it annoying, but understood his reasoning. A part of her, though, was proud that she had a boyfriend that cared about her, even if it meant a little bit of jealousy. Although Ginny was fully aware that Seamus's feelings for her were completely in vain, which would occasionally make her feel bad, depending on what type of mood she was in.

As much as being with Seamus could take Ginny's mind off of Harry, it also seemed to put him into her head when she and Seamus were not together. Ginny was beginning to feel the stress of keeping her feelings hidden for so long. They added to her already overwhelming pile of anxiety. It was a hard way to live, and Ginny knew it wasn't doing her mind well.

Ginny had been through her disquiets many times in her head. Loving Harry. Being with Seamus. Lying to Seamus. Lying to Harry. Not being able to grasp her emotions. Being selfish. And now the thing with Malfoy, which was probably going to become worse than it already was. It was all too much for Ginny. She needed to try to fix one of the things that she had made go wrong.

In all of this, Ginny was growing restless. She had been hiding her feelings for Harry for so long now, that it was beginning to take the biggest toll on her body, seeing as it was the basis of all things painful in her life at the moment. It didn't help at all that she had about six other things weighing her down, either. Ginny knew that she needed to tell somebody about her feelings for Harry. It was the only thing she could think of to do that would lighten the load on her mind and not cause any damage. Well it could cause damage, but not if Ginny went about it the right way, and told the right person.

Ginny had tried to think of something else that could allow her to avoid telling her feelings, but this, as hard as it was for her, was the least painful thing she could do. Everything else involved or was based upon somebody else's emotions, and those were something she couldn't bring herself to toy with. Ginny couldn't break up with Seamus; she couldn't break his heart, and he was helping her. Ginny couldn't tell Harry; that could cause an unthinkable amount of mess on both Ginny and Harry's parts, not to mention Seamus and Bridget's (although Ginny didn't care much about Bridget's feelings as she did Seamus's). She couldn't get hold of her emotions; Ginny had already tried that, and it wasn't working out. And to stop lying to Harry and Seamus? That would unravel everything, causing a mass breakdown for her. She also couldn't do anything about Malfoy; trying to sway his feelings for her would probably backfire, anyway, and plus, Ginny knew what kind of danger she could be putting herself in. That left for Ginny to tell somebody her feelings about Harry. And as much as she didn't want to, Ginny knew that she had to let something off her mind, for the state of her well-being.

Ginny's classmates had noticed a quick change in her behavior from only a few weeks. She had been quiet and reserved, not her normal social, happy self. Harry had taken a particular amount of worry on her, and was constantly asking her what was wrong. Ginny had resorted to telling him that she had been given a lot of homework during the past few weeks, and thought she was coming down with a cold as well, so she was feeling stress from that. But being as he was Harry, he saw through her completely.

"You are going to tell me what's wrong," Harry said quite forcefully, as he confronted Ginny one evening in the common room, while she sat quietly on her chair, gazing into the fire.

"I've already told you, I've had a lot of work, and I think I might be have a cold. I'm just feeling bad from that," Ginny tried convincing Harry, but with no luck.

"I think you're sick with something else," Harry said, sitting down next to her on the chair. "I _know_ something more is wrong, and you're getting yourself ill over it. Is it anything with Seamus? Has he done something to hurt you?"

"No," Ginny muttered apprehensively.

"Then what is it? Tell me what's bothering you," Harry practically pleaded this to Ginny, which made her feel an intense amount of distress.

Ginny wanted to tell him, she really did. But she couldn't. And it made her hurt inside, and her heart throb painfully when she was around him. She could feel tears beginning to gather in her eyes. Ginny tried holding them back for a moment, but then made the mistake of looking back to Harry, who's eyes were wide and beseeching, yearning for her to give him a sufficient, truthful answer. Ginny couldn't take it. Tears began rolling down her face, and she had to look away from Harry, far too aggrieved to see him anymore.

"I wish I could, Harry," Ginny sobbed, and then quickly gathered herself from the chair, and hurried to her dormitory.

Ginny heard a faint, "Wait," from Harry, but ignored it. She couldn't take the pain of being with him; it was just too much.

It had been two days since Ginny's slight emotional breakdown in the Gryffindor common room. Seamus, who wasn't present at the time, felt particularly bad about it. He tried very hard to comfort Ginny, but she wasn't feeling the slightest amount better, and being with Seamus made her feel like she was on the brink of another crash.

Ron had been paying more attention to her than Ginny ever thought he had in her entire life. Every time they would see each other in the corridors, Ron would stop, asking Ginny if she was feeling all right. Ginny knew he was worried about her. They were all worried about her, it seemed.

Ginny had to tell somebody soon, or risk having another incident. The one person who stood out in her mind was Hermione. Ginny couldn't tell Ron, because one, he was her brother. She could not speak of her feelings to her brother, especially when those feelings were for his best friend. And two, since Harry was Ron's best friend, the information would undoubtedly be forwarded on to him, probably not even on purpose. Obviously, she couldn't tell Harry. That was one of her tensions. That left Hermione. Ginny didn't mind this, though. Hermione was one of her best friends, and she knew she could trust her with anything, especially something like this.

Saturday evening at dinner, Ginny asked Hermione if she could talk to her later that night.

"Of course, Ginny. I'm always here to listen," Hermione told her.

"Thanks. I really think I need to talk to somebody."

"I figured that was the case, after, you know, the other day," Hermione said hesitantly.

"Yes…" Ginny looked down. She was still slightly embarrassed by it. "Can we talk in the common room tonight, after everyone has gone to bed? Maybe a little after midnight?"

"Sure. I won't forget, I promise." She smiled respectfully at Ginny, and then took a sip from her goblet. Hermione was such a great friend. Ginny was glad to have her.

Later that evening in the Gryffindor Tower, Harry came to Ginny again. As she saw him approach her, she could feel her cheeks heat up. Ginny was slightly discomfited from what had happened, and still wasn't feeling stable enough to have a one on one conversation with Harry. Harry didn't know this, so he still made his way to her, nonetheless.

"Hi," he said to her, as he joined her by the fire.

"Hullo," Ginny responded with trepidation.

"Do you, er, want to talk about what happened, you know, the other night?" Harry asked her, with the same anxious look in his eyes Ginny had seen so very often.

Ginny looked down for a moment, contemplating her thoughts. How could she put this without sounding irritable or rude?

"No," Ginny answered. A simple answer. Hopefully Harry wouldn't ask her to go into more depth.

"Oh. Alright then," Harry replied, as Ginny winced, afraid of what he might say, but then somewhat pleased of what he did.

"I think I'm going to go to bed now," Ginny said to him, excusing herself from the common room, again leaving Harry speechless and alone on the couch.

At a quarter past twelve that night, Ginny got out of bed, and descended the stairs to the common room. A part of her was glad to be letting off some of the stress she was carrying, but the other part was also a little nervous. Ginny had never officially admitted her love for Harry, and the feeling that she was about to tell someone the thing that she had held inside of her for so long was a bit overwhelming, even if Hermione was one of her best friends.

Ginny entered the common room, and found Hermione already sitting quietly on one of the couches. Ginny walked over to her, and took a seat.

"Hello," Hermione said kindly.

"Hi," Ginny replied.

"So," Hermione said, getting right to the point. "About your—you know. What happened? I noticed something was bothering you, I mean, I think we all did. You made yourself ill over something. What's really been bothering you, Ginny?"

"So many things," Ginny began. "I don't even know where to begin." Hermione nodded her head, and smiled politely.

"Well, I'm listening. Please, go on." Ginny took a deep breath in, and told Hermione.

"I…I like Harry," Ginny stuttered. Hermione just stared at her. "Ok…I like him a lot," Ginny tried again, but it still wasn't right. She sighed. "No, I take that back. I don't like him. I love him."

"And…?" Hermione said in reply.

"_And_? And what?" Ginny asked. What else was she expecting?

"Well I already knew that," Hermione said bluntly.

"You…what?" Ginny asked confused. How could she have already known?

"Ginny. I've known for quite a long time. Remember two years ago when you told me you had given up on Harry? The second you said it I didn't believe you, but when Harry asked me if you still fancied him, of course I couldn't tell him what I still knew, that would be like telling a secret. I couldn't do it because I was your friend. So I've known since then. Plus, your body language around him is unmistakable. It's that of somebody who is in love," Hermione told her.

"Oh," Ginny replied. It made it a bit easier now. "Well I had to tell somebody. I had those feelings bottled up inside me for so long, I was bound to crash sometime. And then I did. It just got to the point were I couldn't be with him. It wasn't like that before. I don't even know what happened. It all sort of came at once. Everything just piled up, and Harry, my feelings for him, was the source of it, and that was on top of it all, and I know I'm not making any sense at all, am I?"

"No, but I understand completely," Hermione continued. Ginny had really only planned on telling her love for Harry, but as Hermione was one of her best friends, she might as well tell her the rest.

"Everything started with my feelings for Harry," Ginny began again, trying this time to make more sense of it all.

Ginny told Hermione everything. About the detention she and Harry shared at the beginning of the year, and what almost happened. How she caught Harry and Bridget together before they had come out as a couple. How it hurt her so much to know that it could have been she and Harry if she would have just done something more. That she was basically just using Seamus as an excuse not to think about Harry, and how sometimes she felt guilty about it, and others she felt selfish. How she was torn over what to do about Seamus. And then about the whole Malfoy thing.

"Wow," was Hermione's first reaction to everything.

"I know. It doesn't seem like it would be a big deal, but it is. I haven't been able to tell anybody, and I needed to _so bad._ And I don't know what to do about any of it."

"It is a big deal, Ginny. You have so much weighing you down, it's horrid. And about Malfoy. You might have to tell somebody more than me about that. That was much too aggressive. I think you should go to McGonagall," Hermione told Ginny.

"I think I shouldn't," Ginny retorted. "Going to a teacher could make things worse." Hermione took a deep breath in.

"I hate to say it, but you're probably right. Knowing Malfoy, he could do something else...What I don't want to think about. But if i>anything /i> like that happens again, you must go to a teacher, or to me, so I can," Hermione said.

"Alright," Ginny agreed. "Then what about..."

Hermione paused for a second, and then spoke. "Everything is going to be just fine. Now that you've told me, I'm here whenever you need me again. Now, what are we going to do about the rest?"

"I don't think I want to do anything about it," Ginny said, biting her lip.

"What d' you mean?" Hermione asked her.

"Well, if I try doing something about it, as in, break up with Seamus, or tell Harry, that would unwind everything I've already established. It could cause havoc for me. And for Harry. He has a life, too. I don't want to ruin it just because of how I feel."

"Ginny," Hermione smiled. "You're basing your life on what you think is going to effect Harry. You need to stop thinking about him, and more about you. You're miserable right now," Hermione gave Ginny a pleading look, and Ginny knew she was right, even though she was having a hard time admitting it.

"I can't. Do anything about it. I—I just can't," Ginny was having trouble now. _Hold yourself together,_ she thought. _You're fine. Keep strong_. She wasn't fine, though. A tear ran down her cheek, and within seconds they were streaming down her face.

"Oh, Ginny. I know. Everything will be fine," Hermione said, pulling her into a comforting hug. Ginny cried into Hermione's shoulder for a moment or two, when something inside her changed. She began feeling lighter. Ginny looked up to Hermione.

"That—that helped," she coughed, but then also found herself laughing some, and Hermione smiled back.

"Good," Hermione nodded.

Ginny wiped her eyes. She had told Hermione everything, and had a good cry over it. She felt like half of her burden had been lifted off of her shoulders. Ginny knew Hermione was right. She would really need to sort things out. She couldn't now, though; she would be risking far too much. Ginny felt better just talking about what was going on, and she thought she would be able to get back to her normal self soon enough.

"Hermione," Ginny said as she got off the couch.

"Yes?"

"You are such a great friend. I don't know what I would do without you." Hermione grinned.

Ginny walked back up to her dormitory feeling a lot better about the situation at hand. She knew she would still have to deal with her assortment of emotions again tomorrow, but now that she had them opened to Hermione, it seemed a lot less demanding.

**A/N: Review! Tell me what you thought of it!**


	10. Open Your Heart To Me

**A/N: I accidently combined two chapters. So this is the edited chapter ten. It's still quite long, though.**

Chapter Summary: The Christmas Season comes in a hurry, and Ginny is feeling much more like herself now that she has Hermione to talk to. She still is fighting with her feelings and debating on things to do, but her life is running much more smoothly. When Christmas arrives, however, Ginny receives a gift from somebody unknown. On it is engraved, "Open your heart to me." She knows it wasn't from Seamus. So whom could it be from? Ginny thinks she might know the answer….

It was the Holiday season. The past month had gone by seemingly unnoticed by the students of Hogwarts, and by Ginny, too. She had also regained her self back, for the most part. Ginny was still dealing with her Seamus and Harry problems, but with Hermione now knowing what was going on, everything seemed a lot less trivial.

Since Christmas was approaching quickly, and the inhabitants of Hogwarts were growing ever restless of the impending holiday. The professors were cramming in their last minute lessons, and assigning homework that was to be completed during the break. Ginny was not looking forward to this; she was beginning to have a rather large sum of work coming in. She did not want to coop herself up in the Gryffindor Tower doing homework, and was counting on an enjoyable holiday.

Seamus was hinting cleverly at the prospects of over a week without classes, which meant time for them to be alone. Ginny acted as though she was excited, but she knew what "time for being alone" really meant. It anticipated that he wanted to spend the entire holiday hidden in the castle, getting very friendly with each other. By that, it meant snogging. Ginny wasn't even sure of her own holiday plans yet, so whether or not Seamus would get what he was hoping for was still a question to her.

Ginny was still trying to sort out her feelings, and occasionally being with Seamus made her feel awkward. Especially kissing. Sometimes it was nice, but others it was odd, and Ginny felt bad about it.

And then there was Harry. He hadn't made much comment about Ginny's crying out on him a month before. Ginny was glad of it. This mean she didn't need to do any explaining, because she knew where the explaining would lead; to a nice elucidation of Ginny's true feelings for him. That wasn't going to happen. Ginny had also regained her comfort level around Harry, and they were back to being friends like usual.

It was December 15th, when Ginny, Ron, Harry, and Hermione had begun discussing their holiday plans.

"Mum sent me a letter wanting to know if we were coming home for Christmas," Ron told Ginny as the four of them sat together in the common room. "That includes you too, Harry. And Hermione, if you don't have any other plans," he added.

"Well, I won't be able to attend," Hermione explained. "I'll be with my parents; we're taking another skiing trip. They love doing that over the holidays. Thank your mum for the offer, though," she said, nodding to the letter Ron was holding.

Ron looked over to Ginny. "What do you want to do? I'm not much in the mood to go home, but if you and Harry want to…"

"I'll stay here," Ginny said. Seamus hadn't formally told her about his plans yet, so she wasn't basing her decision on anything he was doing.

"It doesn't matter to me," Harry added in. "Seeing as it's not really my house and all…It's up to you two," he said, looking at Ron and Ginny.

"Well if we both want to stay here…And you don't mind, Harry?" Ron asked again.

"I've already told you, I don't care. Bridget's going home to her family so it doesn't matter if I'm here or not. It's really up to you and Ginny," Harry repeated.

"I've already said I'd rather stay at the castle," Ginny said frankly. She really did want to stay here more than she wanted to go home. Ginny knew the Burrow was hectic during the holidays, and as much as she wanted to see her family, and as much as she knew they wanted to see her, she wanted to remain at Hogwarts.

"Well I agree," Ron chimed in. "Then it's settled. We'll stay here. Right?"

"Right," Harry and Ginny answered together.

Ron then looked at Ginny, and opened his mouth to speak again.

"You—you're decision—What's Seamus doing for the holidays?" he was finally able to spit out.

"I'm not sure, really," answered Ginny truthfully.

"Because I don't want _him _swaying your decision. If he's forcing you to stay here so you can—can—I don't even want to think about it, we're going home!" Ron added hotly. Ginny was a bit surprised at this. Ron had hardly acted up about Seamus since they had begun dating, and now was a funny place to start. It annoyed Ginny, nonetheless.

"Seamus had nothing to do with my decision! And even if he did, do you actually think I would have told you?" Ginny asked him angrily. Her temper was beginning to show itself.

"I would've found out anyway! I don't want him laying a hand on you! And if I have to follow you around all holiday, so be it!" Ron's ears were beginning to redden, and he furrowed his brow. Ginny's mouth dropped slightly at this.

"Why do you even care about Seamus and me all of a sudden? You were just fine with it when we started seeing each other!" Ginny asked him incredulously.

"Because—because I hear about what he says regarding you! And believe you me it's not something a brother wants to hear about his sister!" Ron barked at her.

This caused Ginny's mouth to drop even lower; surprise of what Ron had said getting to her, and surprise that Seamus actually talked about her in a meaning that would embarrass her brother were the culprit. Of course, Ginny didn't want Ron to know that she wanted to know what Seamus was saying about her, so she stuck with the original argument.

"You didn't scrutinize Harry for answers of if Bridget had swayed his decision!" Ginny yelled back at him. Hermione and Harry turned their heads to Ron; they were watching the argument and their eyes were going back and forth like they were observing some sort of match.

"I didn't need to," Ron said ardently. "Harry already said Bridget was going home."

"But what if Harry said she was staying here? Would you have threatened to follow him around?" Ginny asked Ron fiercely.

"No!"

"Well why not then?" Ginny asked again, sardonically.

"Because—," Ron didn't get to finish.

"Because Harry's your best friend, and he's _allowed_ to have a girlfriend, and if he wants to stay and snog her through the holiday, it's fine by you, just as long as he tells you everything about it!" Ginny raged. "But no, I'm your _little_ sister, and as soon as you find that I could have a relationship with a boy that _might _possibly be more than just friendship, you have to but your fat head in and make sure we don't do so much as hold hands! Ron, you big prat, you don't like admitting that I'm growing up! I think _you_ need to grow up!"

With that, Ginny gave her brother a very reproachful look, and stormed up to her dormitory, muttering things like _you infuriate me!_ And, _don't know what you're thinking_, all the way up.

Ginny awoke the next morning happy, knowing that it was only a few more days until classes were out for break. Her mood was dampened, however, when she remembered the argument that she and her brother had shared the previous night.

She dressed quickly, and made her way down to the common room, a slight scowl across her face. As Ginny left the staircase, she saw Seamus standing near one of the desks. He looked over and saw her, and began to walk towards her.

"Ginny," Seamus greeted her, along with a quick peck on the lips.

"'Morning," she said in reply.

"Listen, I know I told you that I wanted to stay here with you over the holiday, but me mam wants me to come home. I'm really sorry."

"It's…fine," Ginny answered, trying her best to look and sound disappointed. She added a meek smile. _Well Ron'll be pleased, _Ginny thought. _Not that I care, or anything. _

"I hope you're not too upset. I mean, I was really looking forward to being alone for once," Seamus nodded to her.

"Yes, well…I understand," Ginny said. "There'll be other times for us to be, er, alone…"

"I s'ppose so. But, I really wanted to give you your gift in person. I guess I'll just have to send it to you, now," Seamus explained. A look of thought drew across Ginny's face. His mention of a gift had made her remember something, but what it was, she forgot.

"Aw, c'mon Gin, you know I can't give it to you now! That would ruin the surprise! You'll have to wait 'till Christmas, like the rest of us! I mean, I'm not going to ask you to give me my gift, now," Seamus went on. With that, Ginny suddenly remembered. Her eyes widened with the revelation, and she raised her hand up to her suddenly drooping mouth.

_Oh no! _Ginny thought frantically. _A gift! No, not just a gift, Seamus's gift! I knew I forgot something at Hogsmeade last weekend!_ Ginny could remember that trip quite well. There was a trip to Hogsmeade so that students could get Holiday gifts for their family and friends. Ginny had done that, getting gifts for her mother and father, her brothers, Hermione, and Harry. But she had forgotten Seamus. How could she have forgotten Seamus?

"Uh, I, er, yes! I—I can't give you your gift now! Like you said, it would be cheating," Ginny stumbled.

"I'm glad you agree, then," Seamus said lovingly, planting another small kiss on her lips. Ginny smiled and nodded.

"Well, I've got to go. It's too late to go to breakfast, so I should get to class," Ginny said quickly, knowing perfectly well she had enough time to eat. But it gave her an excuse to think of what to do about Seamus's gift, and to get her books.

"Oh, all right then," Seamus responded, giving her another kiss, then turning on his heal, and heading to the entrance of the common room.

Ginny ran back up to her dormitory. She found her schoolbooks, and piled them on her bed, where she sat down next to them. _What to do…_Ginny thought. She couldn't go to Hogsmeade, obviously. And she wasn't going to risk anything by taking the Fred And George Approach, either. _Hmmm_, Ginny thought again. An idea had just come to mind. Maybe she could use Fred and George.

Ginny looked at her watch. She still had time. She grabbed a piece of parchment from under her bed, along with a quill and an inkbottle. She began scrawling on the parchment, writing rather quickly. She finished shortly after she had begun, and set the letter on her bedside table. Then, Ginny took out a few Galleons from her money sack, and laid them atop the letter. She would mail it during the lunch hour.

The lunch bell rang, and Ginny hurried out of Potions in a rush. She had enough time to grab a quick bite to eat before mailing her letter. She ran up the stairs leading to the dungeons, and then to the Great Hall, where she found Harry.

"Where're Ron and Hermione?" Ginny asked him, as they took a seat at the Gryffindor table.

"Ron forgot to do his Potions homework—"

"Well he better finish," Ginny cut Harry off, "because I just came from there, and Snape is in a pretty foul mood today."

"That's great to hear," Harry replied dully, then continued, "and Hermione's, well, actually I'm not entirely sure where Hermione is. Maybe the library…"

Ginny chose to have a ham sandwich for lunch, and proceeded in taking very large bites from it.

"Are you hungry, there, Gin?" Harry asked her, smirking. Ginny swallowed.

"No, not really," she replied, "but I need to send a letter to Fred and George."

"Really? Why?" Harry asked.

"I, er, forgot to get Seamus a Christmas gift," Ginny answered, blushing some. Harry laughed.

"What a good girlfriend you are! How'd you manage that?" he asked, still laughing.

"Not sure…it's not funny!" Ginny scowled.

"So you're going to go to Fred and George for help? Is that really, I dunno, wise?"

"Sure it is," Ginny said, after swallowing another large bite of sandwich. "I'm asking them to send me a gift certificate for him. He'll love it."

"Oh, all right then," Harry said, still smiling. He looked at her, and caught Ginny's eye. Then he grinned, his infamous mischievous grin. Ginny found her cheeks redden some; they hadn't done that in quite a long time. Her heart panged with want for him.

"Oh yeah, I was meaning to ask you something," Harry said, knocking her out of the sort of trance.

"Ok," Ginny replied.

"Well, I need your opinion. I got Hermione's, but I want another, just to be sure."

"Ok," Ginny said again.

"I got Bridget a box of Honeyduke's chocolates and a gold locket for Christmas. D'you think she'll like them?" Harry asked. Of course. That's just what she needed to hear. He had to bring Bridget into their time. It made a heavy weight fall into her stomach.

"I'm sure she'll love them," Ginny manage to say. She then checked her watch. She had twenty minutes until the lunch period was over.

"Wow, I really need to send that letter," she said again, getting up from her spot at the table.

"Right," Harry said in a way that made Ginny sure he sensed the heaviness in her actions. He always managed to see through her.

"Bye, then," Ginny said, as she excused herself from the table.

"See you," Harry replied, giving her a small smile.

Ginny hurried out of the Great Hall, and up to the Gryffindor Tower. She was quick in moving; she now had an uneasiness about traveling alone in empty corridors since the incident with Malfoy. After practically running to the Fat Lady, she burst though the portrait hall and up to her dormitory. Stumbling haphazardly up the stairs, she staggered into the bedroom, and found the letter, right where she had left it, with the galleons still there. Then she flew out of the dormitory and out of the common room as quick as she could.

Ginny approached a broom closet as she neared the owlery. Only something must have been happening inside that wasn't the brooms, because it sounded like suppressed, muffled giggles were coming from it. _Hmm, _Ginny thought as she drew nearer, pressing her ear against the door. It was now evident that it surely was not the brooms making the noise, but rather students. _I wonder, _Ginny thought again, biting her lip, feeling a little urge of slyness creeping through her. She grabbed the doorknob, and with a surge of excitement, pulled the door quickly opened.

"Ah," Ginny said to the people inside the closet, but as their faces became evident, it turned into more of a question, out of sheer astonishment of whom she saw. "Ha?"

"G—Ginny?" It was Ron, whose ears were now burning with embarrassment.

"Oh!" This was from a very shocked Hermione.

"Well finally," Ginny said unambiguously, instead of something of more surprise, even though she was a bit.

"Whaddayoumean?" Ron said perplexedly, slurring his words together, looking annoyed at this. Hermione, however, was looking slightly flustered and embarrassed at the fact that Ginny had just walked in on them.

"There's no reason to explain the obvious," Ginny said, pursing her lips, to prevent her from laughing.

Well…D—don't just stand there! You—your presence here is no longer needed!" Ron stuttered, his ears glowing an even deeper shade of crimson. Hermione took a sharp breath in, and gave Ginny eyes that told her, "We'll talk later."

"And don't tell anybody what you've just seen," Ron added, before she closed the door. Hermione nodded. Then, Ginny closed the door, and walked a few feet away from it, where she leaned against the cold stone wall and burst out laughing. _I guess Ron finished his Potions homework_, she sniggered to herself.

_I wonder how long it's been going on,_ Ginny thought, as she entered the owlery. _Well however long it's been, it sure took them long enough. And why haven't they told anybody? _She tied her letter to Pig, and threw the small owl out of the window. As she turned out of the owlery door, the image of Ron and Hermione popped into her head, and she began laughing again. Lavender Brown walked, who was heading into the owlery, gave her a funny look.

"What's so funny?" She asked Ginny.

"Oh…nothing. I've just remembered something, er, Harry told me," Ginny lied.

"I see," Lavender replied, raising her eyebrows some. Ginny speculated that Hermione was not the only one who still knew of her feelings for Harry, and Lavender spotted everything, being a little on the boy-crazy side herself.

"Yes, well, bye then," Ginny said, sounding a little awkward, and hurrying off to her next class. The bell was going to ring soon.

Throughout the rest of the day, every time Ginny would see Ron, she would laugh. It was just so funny. It had taken the two of them so long to realize that they were meant for each other. _Meant for each other,_ Ginny thought. _Well, it can't be long till they tell Harry. Maybe it'll rub off on him, and he'll see that we are meant for each other._

Hermione did end up catching Ginny later in the common room, with an explanation about what she had seen earlier that day.

"Ginny," she said, as they sat in front of the fire, "I'm sure what you saw today probably surprised you—"

"Actually, it didn't," Ginny interrupted.

"It didn't?" Hermione asked, a confused expression drawing across her face.

"No. I, along with basically the rest of the world, have known forever that you two belong together. I guess it's the same thing with my feelings for Harry. You knew I had them, and I knew you had them for Ron. It just took you guys a little longer to catch up," Ginny explained. Hermione looked slightly relieved to not have to explain anything to a possibly-scarred-for-life Ginny, but opened her mouth again to speak.

"Well, now that you've brought that up, it didn't take us as long as you may think it did." Now it was Ginny with the confused look on her face.

"Are you saying that you've been together for a while?" Ginny asked.

"Actually, yes. We have been together for quite a time, now. Since the beginning of last summer, to be exact," Hermione responded promptly.

"That's a surprise to me," Ginny said, bemused. "You still act as though you haven't realized it yet."

"I know. Most of the time it's because things haven't changed between us. We're still best friends, and Ron still likes to test me by saying thick things. Now we're just together, really. That's probably why it's been so easy for us to hide it, because things haven't changed between how we act around each other. I'm surprised that it took this long for someone to catch us," Hermione said, laughing some.

"But why haven't you told anybody? Especially not Harry?" Ginny questioned.

"We don't want a big deal made out about it. And about Harry, we know how he feels about loosing people. It's happened to him so much, and we don't want to come out dating, which could lead him to feeling as though he lost his two best friends, with us always being together without him. So we've found little times where we can be alone, and then we live our lives like normal. It's all for the better, really."

_Basically, _Ginny thought when Hermione had finished,_ they are just protecting Harry. _Ginny knew that if Harry found this out, he would be infuriated by it. One of his least favorite things was being "protected" from the outside world. It made him feel like a child. Ginny remembered two years ago, during Harry's fifth year, when Dumbledore had tried to "protect" him from the truth, and how angry it had made him. If Harry knew about this, he would undoubtedly be mad. _It's not my place to tell him,_ Ginny thought. _Just forget about it, and he'll find out on his own, hopefully without any problems._

Ginny awoke the first day of the Christmas Holiday excited. No books, no teachers, no anything but sleeping in and relaxing with her friends for almost two full weeks. This was a very mush anticipated break, and it seemed to take ages to finally arrive. With everything going on in her life, the year seemed to go on forever. It was a relief to at last hit the Christmas Holiday.

Ginny was also excited because not only was Seamus gone for the holidays, but so was Bridget. That meant she had Harry to herself for the time being. She knew it sounded awful because of her and Seamus, but with a clear path without either he or Bridget in the way, she could at least try. Maybe without Bridget here, Harry would see how much more Ginny meant to him, and that it was they who belonged together.

Fred and George had come through, also, responding to Ginny's letter with a gift certificate to their joke shop for the amount Ginny sent. She hoped she had spent enough on Seamus; she had used all of the pocket money she had left on his gift, and was slightly worried that he had bought her something pricey and extravagant that her meager gift certificate would never be able to compete with. _Oh well, _Ginny ended up thinking, _at least I remembered. I could have forgotten completely._

When Ginny finally got out of bed, she found that a fresh foot of snow had fallen over night. Hermione had left earlier this morning; Ginny was not positive of the exact time. So, she was hoping she could have an enjoyable holiday amusing herself alone or with Ron and Harry. Actually, she knew she could amuse herself with Harry. But with Ron, that could be a challenge. He might decide to bombard her with questions about Seamus.

Ginny dressed warmly and went down to a very empty common room. All of the Gryffindors had left except for she, Ron, and Harry, and one other fifth year boy Ginny did not know. Ron and Harry were sitting by the fire, discussing their plans for the day.

"Ginny," Harry called, motioning her to join them by the fire.

"'Morning," Ginny said to Harry and Ron as she sat beside them

"There's fresh snow," Ron said, with a childish gleam in his eye.

"I know," Ginny responded. It had been a very long time since they played that game. One of her childhood traditions, really, that every time there was fresh snow, she and her brothers would race to see who could get outside first and track in the newly lain snow. Ginny remembered the last time they had done that game was the year before Ron had left for school. It was only the two of them still at home.

"Well you know the rules," Ron continued.

"Yes, I do. Looser does the other's chores. But there aren't any chores. What should we do?" Ginny asked.

"I'm thinking homework," Ron smirked.

"That's not fair! I don't know everything you do!"

"Then Harry can play, too."

"Hey, I'm not technically a Weasley," Harry said. "Plus, I've got a ton of my own work to do."

"Of course you're family. And that's the point. Ginny always looses. You won't have any work to do," Ron laughed, but Ginny scowled. Ron was right, however. She had had a habit of always being last out, and getting the most chores to do when she was young. But this time would be different. Ron would have to do her homework this time.

Ron then looked over to her with a very mischievous look in his eye. Then, without warning, he tore out of the common room and up to the boys' dormitories. Harry followed suit, and ran up after him.

"Hey! Not fair!" Ginny called after the boys, but picked herself up and ran to her own dormitory.

Ginny scrambled up the stairs, and to her own room. There, she searched manically for her boots and earmuffs. Once they were found, she pulled the boots on, not even bothering to tie them, and hurriedly put on her cloak. She ran down the stairs, and out of the common room, putting on her earmuffs as she went. Ron and Harry weren't anywhere to be seen, which could be a good or bad thing.

Finally, Ginny made it to the entrance hall, where she ran out of the big oak doors, and into the fresh snow. Ron and Harry were not out here, by the looks of it. Ginny looked at her watch, which was still on her wrist. It had only taken her seven minutes to get out here. _I won,_ Ginny thought happily. _I actually won._

Just as she was smiling to herself, the doors to the school opened up, and Harry ran out to the snow.

"I won!" Ginny squealed gleefully, like a little child.

"So you did," Harry answered with a smile.

"Where's Ron? Did he get lost?" Ginny snickered. Now it was his turn to loose for once, and do her chores, or homework, rather.

"He couldn't find his mittens," Harry grinned.

"His mittens?" Ginny repeated, then she laughed.

"Yes. He said his hands would get cold."

"What a man he his," Ginny mocked, still laughing, this time with Harry joining in.

"He told me to go on because you would never get out here before us, so you'd loose either way," Harry explained.

"I guess he was wrong," Ginny said back. "Now he gets to do both of our homework. Actually, come to think of it, do we really want Ron doing our homework? I mean, he is…"

"You're probably right," Harry laughed quietly.

As the two laughed for a moment or so more, Ron exited the castle, looking somewhat aggravated.

"Look who's found his mittens," Ginny muttered to Harry.

"Oh well that's rich," Ron sulked, treading out the laughing Ginny and Harry. "What happened?" he scowled to Harry, who was still sniggering. "We had it in the bag!"

"She beat us to it, mate!" Harry replied, patting him on the back.

"Oh, grow up, Ron, it's just a silly game," Ginny said, smiling.

"No it's not! I've never lost at this game ever!"

"Ron, we haven't played it in about eight years," Ginny reminded. "And it doesn't matter anyway, because Harry and I decided we don't want you doing our homework anyway."

"All right, the—hey! Is that supposed to be some sort of insult?" Ron asked the two of them.

"Of course not, Ron. We just, er, think it would be best if we did our own work this time," Ginny explained.

"Fine, then," Ron shrugged. With that, he made a large snowball, and threw it at Harry's head.

"Hey! Watch it!" Harry yelled back, ducking.

The three of them stayed outside for the rest of the afternoon. It was great fun, even though there were only three of them playing. By four o'clock, it was beginning to get dark, and Ginny was exhausted and cold.

"Too bad Hermione's not here," Harry said, throwing a final snowball at Ron.

"Yeah…" Ron said with a dreamy look in his eyes, which caused him to miss the snowball completely, and it pelted him in the face. Ginny broke out into another bout of laughter at Ron being hit and his expression at the mention of Hermione's name.

Very soon after that, Harry, Ginny, and Ron headed inside. They were all cold now, and the sun was almost down. The three of them entered the castle, and then treaded tiredly to the warmth of the common room, where after removing their damp cloaks, fell onto their favorite chairs in front of the fire.

"Well that was fun," Ron sighed, looking from Harry to Ginny, who nodded in agreement.

They warmed by the fire and had some small conversation until about five forty-five in the evening, when Ginny began feeling hungry. Apparently, she was not the only one.

"I don't know about you, but I'm rather starving," Ron said, patting his stomach.

"I'm feeling the same," Ginny agreed.

Although dinner didn't start until six o'clock, they decided to go down to the Great Hall early. When they arrived, they saw that the house tables had been replaced by one large table, as they normally were over the holiday, since not many people stayed. The teachers were already seated, Dumbledore at the head, surrounded by the rest of the staff on either side. There were three other students sitting there, too; though Ginny didn't know their names, she knew the fifth year Gryffindor boy, and was pretty positive that the other two were a third year Slytherin and a fourth year Ravenclaw. They sat around looking quite timid at the fact that they were sitting alone.

Ginny, Ron, and Harry took three seats along one side of the table, and were greeted by Professor McGonagall.

"Good evening," she smiled, as they were settling in their seats.

""Evening, Professor," they said in unison.

"I trust you had an enjoyable first day off?" McGonagall asked the three of them.

"Yes, we did, actually," Ginny replied politely, and Ron and Harry nodded in agreement. As soon as she had finished speaking, Dumbledore stood up.

"Ah, how very nice it is to see everyone here this evening. I am fairly certain that this is everyone who will be joining us. As you can see, there are not the normal settings on the table. I ask that you use the menus on your plates to choose what you would like. As there are so few of us, there is a bigger selection to choose from, so, please, do eat up!

The staff and six students picked up their menus, and spoke their order, where it appeared in front of them moments later. Ron was gorging himself with a divine amount of chicken, and Harry had picked the pork chops. Ginny was not sure of what to choose, but in the end decided on roast beef. Three courses later, Ginny found herself extremely full, and even more exhausted than she already was. After seeing that Harry and Ron were feeling the same, the three left dinner with a goodbye to their teachers, and headed back to the common room.

Upon returning to the Gryffindor Tower, Ginny curled up in front of the fire with a Muggle book Hermione had leant her. Ron had gone to get his chess set from the boy's dormitories, and Harry was sitting alone at one of the tables, waiting for Ron to return.

After about five minutes, when Ginny was rater immersed in her book, she felt the distinct feeling of somebody watching her. She turned around and saw that it was Harry, exactly who she had a feeling it would be, staring straight at her. She smiled politely to him, and he, who had just noticed that she was looking back, looked down for a moment, and then returned the smile. Ginny also noticed that Ron wasn't back yet.

"I don't know, Harry. I think you better go look for Ron, he might've gotten lost on his way," Ginny smirked.

"I know, I mean, it is such a long way; who knows where he might turn up," Harry laughed back. For a moment, Ginny felt the familiar surge of electricity go through her body that she normally would experience when Harry and she shared moments like this. She wondered if Harry felt the same.

"Sorry it took me so long," Ron said, fumbling down the stairs leading to the boy's dormitories a few moments later. "I couldn't find the board."

"Was it with your lost mitten?" Ginny sweetly.

"I found that, but yes, it was—" he stopped, probably realizing that he sounded a bit silly talking about his lost mitten, his ears flashing red. Ginny giggled, and went back to reading her book.

As she was reading, however, her mind flitted between thoughts. She and Harry had just shared one of their moments, ones that had the funniest habit of showing up whenever, and it made Ginny's heart race. She couldn't help but wonder more about she and Harry, and she wanted him now more than ever, it seemed. And with Seamus and Bridget away, who knew what could happen between them over the next week and a half…

Christmas morning, Ginny woke up to see snow falling outside her window and a rather large pile of gifts at the foot of her bed. _Yes, presents!_ Ginny thought excitedly to herself. There was nothing wrong with being a little selfish over the holidays.

Ginny jumped out of bed, and put on her robe over top of her nightshirt, and began with her gifts. The first one she opened was the usual jumper from her mother, this year it was shocking pink, which Ginny knew would stand out dreadfully with her hair, but liked in nonetheless. She moved on to the next box, which was from Ron. It turned out to be a large box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. Ginny unwrapped a smaller box, this time from Fred and George, which was a small, but very pretty pin.

Next was a gift from Seamus, who had gotten her a small crystal heart, attached to a gold bracelet chain. It was quite pretty. Ginny then opened up a square package, from Hermione, that ended up being a diary. Inside, Hermione had written a small message.

_Ginny, _

_When I'm not here to talk to, this diary always is. And anything you don't want to tell me, feel free to tell it, because it will guaranteed keep all of your secrets safe and sound (there's an anti-peeking charm on it). _

_Always, _

_Hermione_

Ginny closed the diary, and set it beside her. _That was very sweet,_ she thought, as she picked up the next gift. It was from Harry. Her heart skipped a beat, as she opened the package. It was a small flower, or so it looked. Checking twice, and reading the label, Ginny discovered that it was actually a piece of candy, probably marzipan, which was constructed to look exactly like a real flower. To Ginny, it was beautiful, and being that it was from Harry, and its beauty, she didn't think she would ever eat it.

Finishing off her last gift, which was a pair of earrings from her mother and father, Ginny noticed something small lying almost under her bed. She picked it up, and found that it was a small box. It did not say whom it was from on the front, so she opened it up. Inside, was a gorgeous golden heart locket, with a few diamonds encrusted on its front. She opened it to see that inside, there was an engraving. It read: _Open your heart to me_. Ginny read it over, and her mouth hung open a bit.

The locket was beautiful. But who was it from? It couldn't have been from Seamus; he had obviously spent a lot on the bracelet, and he would've put his name on it. But who else? Ginny's heart leaped as a name entered her mind. _Harry._ It had to be. He said he had gotten Bridget a locket, maybe he was hinting that it was really for Ginny. If it was from Harry, though, why hadn't he signed his name? _He probably wants it to be secret,_ she thought, but then bit her lip. What if it wasn't from Harry?

She tried to think of any other person who would send her something so extravagant, but only Harry came to mind. It had to be him. So, she put the locket on, and decided to see if he would say anything about it when he saw he wearing it.

Ginny walked to the common room, where Ron and Harry were already seated. She didn't even get a thank you from Ron as she took her seat in front of the boys, but rather a "Who gave you that thing? Seamus?"

"Your welcome for the gift, Ron, and no, it's not from Seamus. Actually, I don't know who it's from," Ginny explained, her eyes flashing to Harry.

"Are you sure it's yours, then?" Ron asked, raising his eyebrows.

"I'm sure. My name was on the box."

"Let me take a look at that," said Harry, coming closer to her. Ginny pursed her lips. "Wow. Are they diamonds? That's some necklace, Gin, whoever got it for you must really like you a lot," he added with a smile.

"Thanks," Ginny replied, almost breathlessly. Was that a confirmation that it was him who had given it to her? _He hasn't directly said it's from him because Ron's here,_ Ginny thought.

The rest of Christmas Day was spent around the castle, and having snowball fights in the snow, then eating a tremendous Christmas feast, even though there were so few of them. At the very end of the day, Ginny, Harry, and Ron sat in the common room, tired from the excitement of Christmas.

"Today was good," Ron thought aloud, and Ginny and Harry murmured their agreement. "But I'm tired. I think I'm going to turn in. G'night," he said, yawning widely after. Ron went to bed, leaving Ginny and Harry alone in the common room together.

Harry left his spot on the couch, and sat next to Ginny on their chair in front of the fire.

"Did you have a good Christmas?" he asked her quietly.

"Yeah, I did," Ginny responded lightly.

"That really is some necklace," Harry reiterated from earlier.

Ginny nodded. "Yes, it really is."

"Have you found out who's given it to you yet?"

"No, I haven't. Do you know of anyone?"

Harry looked at her and smiled. "No, I don't think I do."

"Oh. Well, then, I think I'm going to get to bed."

"Right, me too." Harry responded. They both got up, and Ginny suddenly had a very strong urge to kiss him good night. She stopped abruptly, though, realizing that as much as she wanted to, she couldn't. And the look in Harry's eyes told her that he was feeling the same.

**A/N:Okay, Review!**


	11. Truths

**A/N: I know I accidentally posted this chapter along with chapter 10, so some of you might have read this already. But for those of you who haven't, here it is! I hope you enjoy it, and remember to review!**

Chapter Summary: Ron announces that Fred and George are putting on a special test display of their new fireworks on the school grounds. Ginny knows that Ron and Hermione will be off by themselves during this event, and that this will be the perfect time for her to find out if Harry really does still have any feelings for her that he wants to confess. But will she get the happy ending she wants?

Hermione came back the day after Christmas. Her excuse was that she needed a suitable place to finish off her holiday homework, but the look that she was giving Ron as she explained this to the three of them told Ginny otherwise. She had wanted to be with Ron.

Ginny was quite glad about Hermione's returning. As much as she enjoyed being with Harry, she rather missed the company of another girl. Plus, she could not wait to tell Hermione about the necklace, and to thank her for the diary.

"So, Hermione," Harry asked that evening, as the four of them sat in the common room, "did you have a good Christmas?"

"Oh yes! And thank you for the gifts, too, by the way. I love them all!" she responded happily. Then Ron, Harry, and Ginny in turn thanked Hermione for the gifts she had sent them.

"And I forgot to tell you two," Ron began, looking at Ginny and Harry, "but now that Hermione's back I'll tell her, too, that Fred and George mailed me. They said that they were requesting to Dumbledore if he wouldn't mind them testing out a new product over the holiday on the school grounds. They said they needed a big space, and since there are only six of us here, it would be safe." Hermione rolled her eyes at the word "safe."

"And what," she asked, sounding a bit reproachful, "is this product that needs a lot of ground and very little people around so it's not dangerous?"

"Fireworks," Ron said with a grin.

"Fireworks!" Ginny squealed, clasping her hands together like a little girl. She had always loved fireworks.

"Fireworks?" Hermione asked sounding unimpressed. "Haven't Fred and George already demonstrated that they have good fireworks, during our fifth year, for example?"

"Yes, but these are different. They are big. Well, they're supposed to be. That's why they need to test them," Ron tried explaining.

"So they don't even know if they are hazardous yet?" Hermione demanded.

"I already told you that they needed to test them out!" Ron glared at Hermione.

"What if they blow up the school? Have they even thought about that one? I'm sure Dumbledore will never agree," Hermione said, crossing her arms, looking satisfied with herself for winning yet another argument.

"Actually, he has," Ron said with a smirk. "Fred and George said that they will be here two days before term starts. And we're all invited to come watch the show."

"Oh, so now they're putting not only the school at risk but us, too?" asked Hermione with a scowl.

"Hermione, trust me. Everything will be fine. This is Fred and George we're talking about," Ron said, trying to comfort her.

"That's exactly what I'm worried about," Hermione sighed.

Ginny was excited. She was excited to see her brothers, whom she hadn't seen since the summer, and even more excited to see this new concoction of fireworks they had planned. But she was most excited to watch the fireworks with Harry. Ginny knew what Ron and Hermione would be up to, actually she rather not think about it, but with the two of them out of the way, that left she and Harry. By themselves. Watching fireworks. In the cold. What could get more romantic than that?

There was only three days left now before the start of the next term, and that meant three days left without Seamus of Bridget at school to damper what she knew she and Harry had got going over the past week or so. Sure, Ginny still had that little pang of guilt in her heart from betraying Seamus, but there was no way she could ignore her feelings for Harry, especially not after the gift he had given her. It seemed that Harry was finally coming to his sense. _Well maybe if something happens to us tomorrow night, he'll break up with Bridget and then I can break up with Seamus,_ Ginny thought. That's what she needed. A good excuse to break up with Seamus, and if she cheated on him, that would be the perfect one. Actually, it wouldn't even be an excuse; that would be the truth, which was even better. _Hopefully something happens,_ Ginny found herself hoping silently to herself.

That day, the day before Fred and George's fireworks display, Ginny decided that time was ripe for she and Hermione to talk about some stuff. Ginny wanted to show Hermione the necklace, but mainly find out if her plan to accidentally on purpose cheat on Seamus so she could break up with him was a good idea. So, she found Hermione alone in her dormitory later that day before dinner.

"Hi, Hermione. I'm glad you're back. It was great with my brother and Harry, but another girl's company is always welcome" Ginny grinned, joining Hermione on her bed.

"Yes…," Hermione replied, but with an almost distant sounding tone to her.

"What's up?" Ginny questioned, raising her eyebrows at Hermione's pensive but faraway gaze.

"Oh, nothing."

"Don't lie to me. I thought we were on truthful terms," Ginny insisted.

"Oh all right, then," Hermione sighed, propping herself up on one elbow. "Last night, after you and Harry went off to bed, Ron told me he loved me," a wistful smile drew across her face. "Then we—"

"Right, no need to tell me anymore," Ginny interjected, cringing at the thought. Hermione was her friend, but Ron was her brother. Things that they did on their own time were something Ginny did not need to know about, especially things that she was sure Hermione was just about to tell her about. "Well, then why do you look so down?"

"I'm not, I'm elated! Hearing those words, I don't know, I mean, I guess I always knew that he loved me, but to hear him actually say it, it's just…surreal," Hermione sighed again, a vague smile overcoming her, and then she started to laugh quietly to herself.

"I know how you feel. No, actually I don't. Nobody's ever told me they've loved me other than my family. You're really lucky, even if it is a serious prat who loves you," Ginny smiled.

"Yeah. I guess I am, aren't I? And speaking of love, how are you and Seamus?"

"How are we always? Exactly the same. Nothing's changed. But I did want to talk about him to you, actually," Ginny said.

"Oh, ok. I expect it's about that necklace you're wearing?" Hermione asked.

"This? No, it's not from Seamus."

"Really? Then who is it from?"

"I'm not sure, exactly. I do have an idea, though. I think it might be from Harry. He was getting my opinion on some necklace he said he had gotten Bridget for Christmas, and the description he gave of it is just like this one. And then he kept dropping all these little hints around. I know I shouldn't get my hopes up, but I really think it's from him," Ginny explained.

"Well you're right not to get your hopes up, but you never know. What are you going to tell Seamus? I'm sure he's going to ask about it," Hermione continued.

"Oh, I'll just tell him my mum and dad got it for me. He'll never think anything of it, well, just as long as he doesn't see what's engraved inside of it."

"Oohh, what is engraved inside?" Hermione asked excitedly.

"Look," Ginny said, opening up the locket, allowing Hermione to read the inscription inside.

"That's romantic!" Hermione exclaimed. "You said I'm lucky to have somebody who loves me, but obviously you do, too! They're just in the form of a secret admirer!"

"I guess I never really thought about it that way. But, anyway, as important as that is to me, that's not exactly why I wanted to talk to you. What I really wanted to know was your opinion on an excuse to break up with Seamus."

"You just told me last month that that couldn't happen," Hermione said, raising her fist beneath her chin.

"It can't, unless I have a valid reason. And my reason begins with finding out if Harry really did send me this locket. I'd go about that by seeing if tomorrow night while Harry and I are watching the fireworks together anything happens between us. If it does, that means I will have cheated on Seamus, giving me a legitimate reason to end it with Seamus. That way, Harry and I will have already known our feelings for each other and I won't have to worry about spilling any of my own secrets. It all works out," Ginny smiled, but Hermione grimaced.

"That's quite an idea, and a very clever one, at that. And that's exactly why you can't do it."

"What? Why not?" Ginny asked, now frowning, herself.

"You just can't! It's plans like that one that always backfire or go dreadfully wrong! Believe me, I know from experience. That's what I get for being friends with Ron and Harry. Just don't do it. Let things play out. If you don't mess around with things, then you never know what could happen on its own. Trust me on this one."

"Oh fine," Ginny agreed reluctantly. "I thought it was perfect, too."

"Like I said, if something is meant to happen between you and Harry, it will. Don't go off and scheme things into happening. You'll only end up hurting yourself, and probably Harry, too, as you don't know exactly what he's feeling, either," Hermione told Ginny. "And I believe if you want to break up with Seamus that badly that you need to come up with plans just so you can do it guilt free, you ought to break up with him when he comes back."

"I can't do that! Because that would take explaining, and I can't risk anything! I've already told you that!" Ginny said a little frantically.

"All right, then. Do what you want, just as long as it doesn't include trying to get that plan to work," Hermione persisted.

"Fine, I promise. I guess it's better that you talked me out of it. You're probably right, anyway; something bad would've come out of it.

The day of Fred and George's fireworks display finally arrived. To Ginny's displeasure, she overheard Hermione complaining to Ron about them, and then Ron telling her that they didn't have to watch, 'if you know what I mean.' Ginny turned away, quite chagrinned at hearing that part of the conversation, and trying to alleviate her mind of a very unappealing picture. Her mind, however, corrected itself quite quickly. She did have other things to think about. Harry Potter other things.

Yes, Ginny had told Hermione she wouldn't connive anything, but she could still think about what could happen between them tonight while Hermione and Ron were doing God knows what.

Night rushed in with a hurry, showing beautiful clear skies, and a freshly snow coated ground would set off the display beautifully. Fred and George had joined them for dinner in the castle, afterward going outside to begin setting up.

After Ginny, Harry, Ron, and Hermione had finished eating, they all went back to the common room where they bundled up in their cloaks, preparing for a cold night. Feeling warm enough, they then left the Gryffindor Tower, headed out of the castle, and trudged through the snow, where they situated themselves in front of the lake; Fred and George had set up on the other side.

Hermione melted the snow around from they were sitting with a spell Ginny was not quite sure of, and then they all took turns casting Impervious spells on their bottoms so they would not get wet. Though halfway through sitting on the cold ground, Hermione decided that she did not want to partake in the activities, as she did not want to get her head blown off, and that the others should consider, too. She left with a "humph!" but Ginny was sure she saw her squeeze Ron's shoulder when she passed him.

The three of them were sitting around, teeth chattering, when suddenly, a loud bang penetrated the silence, causing Ginny to jump. She looked up, and saw a wonderful, huge pinwheel spinning around, seeming to take up they entire sky. It was like the fireworks from a few years ago, but so much bigger and more dazzling. She watched another one shoot up into the air, and then dance around the sky with the other one.

"You know what," Ron said, about five minutes into the show, "I feel kind of bad. I think I'm going to go apologize to Hermione."

"But you're going to miss this," Harry said to Ron, a little surprised.

"Yeah, well, I feel bad. Don't worry, I should be back before they're all done," Ron explained as he left his spot on the ground.

Another five minutes passed, and Ginny was becoming increasingly colder.

"It's awfully cold, isn't it," she asked Harry, watching yet another firework shoot into the air.

"Yeah. Why don't you move in a little closer? It'll help keep us both warm," Harry suggested. Ginny nodded with a smile, and scooted over closer to him.

"It's such a beautiful night, though, despite the cold. And these fireworks are splendid," Ginny said, after a few more moments of silence between them.

"It is. Too bad Ron and Hermione are missing it. I wonder what's taking him so long, anyway?"

_Oh I've got an idea,_ Ginny said to herself. "I don't know. Probably having a row or something."

"Yeah, you're right. Typical them. When are they going to just give it up? If not for them then for me, because they drive me mad!" Harry said, throwing his head back in annoyance.

"Don't worry about them, just think about what's going on out here," Ginny said, trying hard to subtly hint that she was right there, sitting very close to him. How she wanted him to kiss her.

"Right, yeah," Harry agreed, looking over to Ginny, and then grinning. "You know what this reminds me of?" he asked her.

"No, what?"

"Do you remember over the summer when you and me would sit together outside and watch the fireflies together? And you would always say how they reminded you of a fairytale? Well this is kind of like then. Except it's really cold instead of hot, and we're watching fireworks instead of fireflies," Harry laughed.

Harry was right. This night was much like those, in the way Ginny was feeling and everything. She remembered sitting there in the dark with him, wishing with all her heart that he would kiss her, just as she was now.

"I do remember. I'm surprised you do, too," Ginny said, a smile playing flirtatiously on her lips.

"Why wouldn't I? I remember everything we do together."

"You—you do?" Ginny asked, her heart beginning to race a bit.

"Of course. You're my best friend. Why wouldn't I remember?" Harry replied, smiling at her. But there it was. The words Ginny did not want to hear. The words that pulled her heart out and stomped on it on this cold, snowy ground. If she meant anything more to him than a friend, now would have been the time for him to say it, Bridget or no Bridget. But he had told her how he really felt, and Ginny was utterly heart broken. And just when she was beginning to think that there was truly a possibility between them, not just one in her heart. That's all they were. Best friends. That's_ really _all they were.

Ginny silently turned her head away from Harry. She did not want him to see her tears.


	12. Prince Charming Sort Of

Chapter 12: Prince Charming (Sort Of)

Chapter summary: Ginny comes to peace (again) with the fact that Harry and she are friends. But while studying in the Library, she encounters a very unfortunate person. Luckily Harry is there to come to her rescue…

"So," Hermione said, scurrying over to the spot where Ginny was sitting in the Gryffindor common room. It was the morning after Fred and George's fireworks display, and the morning after Ginny had found out Harry's true feelings for her. "Did anything happen between you two?"

Ginny looked up at Hermione, who was leaning over the back of the chair, and shook her head despairingly. "No," she said quietly.

"Oh Ginny, I'm sorry. I know you really wanted that, but—"

"Hermione," Ginny interrupted her, "I know. I did want it, but some things just aren't meant to happen. And now I know that Harry and I are one of them."

"Did you tell him how you felt? You didn't try anything, though, did you?" Hermione asked, moving to the open seat next to Ginny on the couch.

"Of course not, why would I do such a thing? But Harry told me how he really felt," Ginny said, breathing deep.

"Really? Ginny, I'm really sorry," Hermione said with sad look.

"He told me I was his best friend. There's nothing to be sorry about. He just doesn't think of me as more."

"Well at least he thinks of you as a best friend," Hermione replied, trying to lighten Ginny's mood.

"I guess you're right. I mean, he could still think of me as Ron's little sister, right? But I guess he might still think that, just now I can be one of his friends, too."

"I'm sure he doesn't think of you as Ron's baby sister. I mean; he's obviously seen that you have grown up, he just doesn't think of you as being more than a friend. Which is too bad, because I for one think that you two really deserve each other and would make a great couple," Hermione smile, touching Ginny on the shoulder.

"Thanks, 'Mione. I think the same, too. If only Harry could just see it…"

The Christmas Holiday was over, and the school was back to its busy tumult. All of the students were back, including Seamus and Bridget. Half of Ginny didn't care, though, because that half of her was telling her to be happy that Harry had told her that he considered her one of his best friends, and to move on because they were never going to happen. The other half of her was still trying to find that little glimmer of hope for the two of them somewhere, however little it was. But as much as Ginny wanted to hold on to that little piece of hope, she was trying hard to come to peace with the idea that they were going to be no more than friends. Ever. Period.

Ginny had also stopped wearing the locket. She had come to conclusion that Harry was not the one who got it for her, and therefore she felt no need for her to sport it anymore. And plus, she wouldn't have to worry about Seamus asking her about it, which meant that she didn't have to come up with another lie.

In the corridors, Ginny sometimes saw Harry, with Bridget clinging to his arm like a little child. The day after term had started, she heard Bridget cooing to Harry how much she had missed him over the holiday.

"Harry," she pouted to him, "I was so lonely without you! But as soon as I opened up the package you sent me with this _gorgeous_ locket inside, I nearly fell over, and didn't miss you as much anymore, because when I put it on, you were close to my heart!"

Harry lent over and kissed her on the cheek, and Ginny turned her head away with disgust. _Please tell me what he sees in her. She seems so fake, like she is only with him because he's Harry Potter,_ she thought, taking a deep sigh and walking to her next class.

Seamus was also very glad about being back from the holiday. He was very happy with the gift Ginny had sent him, and was even more pleased to see Ginny wearing the bracelet he had given her. And he took every opportunity he could to point out to people that it was he who had got it for her.

Sometimes when Seamus was around, Ginny would think about Harry again, but she would always reprimand herself each time she thought so. _I've been through this once all ready this year; I should know by now that his feelings haven't changed. And it is my fault, after all. There's no denying that. I just wish that things were different…_

With the start of the second term, the homework being issued by the teachers had increased greatly from that of the previous term. And that was saying something, seeing as Ginny barely got through all of her assignments as it was. She was back to getting lectures on how the students should begin preparing for their exams, even though they were five months away, and more on how they should be using that study time as extra review for N.E.W.T.s, even though they were one year and five months away. The whole thing was becoming exhausting for Ginny, and she spent most of her free time in the Library trying to complete her assignments.

The good thing about being in the Library, however, was that she had an excuse not to spend every waking moment with Seamus, who made it quite clear that he wanted to make up all of the lost time they could have spend together over Christmas by never leaving each others' side, except for class. Ginny was always telling him that she had homework, and he would insist that he could help her with it. Ginny would then retort that he didn't _really_ want to help her, and that there would be "time for that later" if he would just leave her alone to study. That seemed to hold him off a bit.

Cold weather and insane study habits had caused Ginny to loose her thoughts some about Harry, but they still found themselves in the back of her head. And one day while she was studying, she was reminded of something else that had been in the very back of her head, something she hadn't burdened herself with for quite some time now.

"Weasley."

Ginny peered around from her spot at a table, and looked around to the shelves where she heard her name. She shook it off however, and continued reading her Potions book.

"Why don't you stop ignoring me and come over here," the voice whispered again.

_Who on earth…_Ginny thought, turning her head again, and cautiously getting up out of her seat. Maybe it was someone, a certain someone, who had changed their mind about what Ginny meant to them. But he never called Ginny "Weasley;" unless he was trying to be secretive, or something. Nevertheless, she decided to see whom it was calling for her from behind the bookshelf.

"Hello?" Ginny called, walking to the region where she thought the voice had come from.

"Other side," it whispered again, through the rows of books. Ginny hurried to the other side, but then froze when she met the figure at the opposite end of the other side of the bookshelf.

"What—sorry, but I have no reason to be speaking to you. I'll be going, now, then," Ginny said, turning on her heel to leave in a fluster.

"Wait," Malfoy called quietly after her. She stopped. He had a different tone to his voice.

"What is it?" she asked him, keeping her distance.

"I just wanted to talk," he said, his face softer than she ever imagined it being.

"I, er, no. Remember what happened last time you wanted to 'talk'?" Ginny asked him sternly.

"Yes, well, I suppose I was a bit rash," Malfoy said with a faint smile.

"Oh yes, just a bit," she added sarcastically, taking another step back.

"Come on, Ginny. You haven't seen my good side."

"What good side? Are you even capable of having a good side?"

"If you would just give me a chance—" Malfoy continued, but Ginny broke him off.

"I'd rather not," she said hurriedly. His eyes narrowed again, in their normal, hawk like manner.

"What do you see in Seamus that you can't see in me? I mean, it can't be looks, and I guarantee you I could give you everything you want."

"No, you really couldn't," Ginny said, taking in a deep breath. She wanted to get out of there. Malfoy seemed calm, but she could tell his temper was rising, and she didn't want another incident like the last.

"Fine. If this will help, I got you that locket for Christmas," he said, crossing his arms with satisfaction.

Ginny's pulse was rising now, and she felt an anger inside of her for ever even taking that locket out of its case and wearing it on her neck as if Harry had bought it for her. She reached into her pocked, pulled out the necklace, and threw it at Malfoy.

"Do you have any idea how much that cost?" he asked her angrily, but keeping his volume low so Madam Pince wouldn't hear him.

"Frankly, I don't give a damn. You are a cold, cruel, sorry excuse for a human being! I can't believe I ever wore that thing! Do us both a favor; stay out of my life, Malfoy!"

"What have I ever done to you?" Malfoy asked, his chest beginning to rise violently with anger.

"You tried to take advantage of me! And what about everything you've said to or about my friends and family? That's good enough to be counted as me! I want _nothing_ to do with you! How many times do I have to make myself clear?" Ginny asked him, keeping her eyes on Malfoy, but aware of her surroundings.

"I—" but Malfoy didn't get to finish it, because from out behind the neighboring bookshelf, a jet of red light shot through and hit him in the back, stunning him, and causing him to fall stiff.

Ginny gasped, and looked to see if she should run, but turned to see the smiling face of Harry emerging.

"I heard him having a go at you," Harry said to Ginny.

"How?" she asked, wondering where he had been to hear it.

"Well you're not the only one with piles of homework. Hermione's making me spend all my free time down here finishing my assignments. I was sitting behind there and heard his voice, then yours," he explained.

"That explains it, then. But thank you. I was worried he would get, er, violent or something when I told him I didn't want to be with him for about the hundredth time."

"The hundredth time?" Harry asked, his brow raising.

"Not the hundredth, but it has been quite a few," Ginny informed him.

"What? Why didn't you tell me he was bothering you! I thought I told that if he was doing anything to you, even just talking to you the wrong way, that I would get him!" Harry asked, frowning.

"Yes, I know. But I thought I could handle it. I mean, it is just Malfoy, and I'm not a little girl."

"You're right, it is Malfoy, and he's going to do anything and everything to get what he wants. Stay away from him, Gin."

"I know. I'm sorry, but thank you, Harry," Ginny said, looking down at her feet.

"Listen. I'm sorry if I was harsh. But this is Malfoy we're talking about, and I don't want you to get hurt. If he comes to you again, tell me. You can't handle him alone," Harry told her, putting his hand on her shoulder.

Ginny nodded, "All right." Then she smiled at him. If best friends meant that Harry would protect her from worms like Malfoy, she could deal with it.

"Good," Harry replied with a grin.

"My prince charming," Ginny joked, pulling her hand to her head and swooning. She popped back up, "Well sort of, anyway."

"Right I am," Harry answered, laughing back, as the two began leaving the Library.

As they walked to the entrance, Ginny made a quick stop at the front desk.

"Excuse me, Madam Pince? There's a young man lying on the floor in row 115. I think he might be stunned," Ginny explained.

"I don't know how it goes on," Madame Pince said, shaking her head, "all this tom-foolery in the Library…," she left her desk and continued to where Malfoy was lying.

Harry and Ginny left, laughing at Malfoy and Madam Pince, and Ginny was happy. She was glad that she and Harry were best friends, she really was.

**A/N: Theupcoming chapters are probably the best of this entire fic, so be excited. I'm pretty sure you're going to love the next chapters; they get really exciting. I just thought I'd give you all a heads up on what's coming! Anyway, I'm sure a lot of you saw what happened in this chapter coming. But I hope you liked it, leave me a review and tell me what you thought!**


	13. Valentine’s Day: A Surprising Confession

Chapter 13: Valentine's Day: A Surprising Confession

Chapter Summary: Valentine's Day comes around, and Seamus and Ginny go to the annual Valentine's Day Hogsmeade trip. There, Seamus confesses something to Ginny, something she was not ready for at all.

February edged it's way upon Hogwarts slowly, but it finally arrived bringing a sense of relief to the students, for another month had passed. Another reason for happiness creeping among the students was that Valentine's Day was only two weeks away. Girls were frequently seen giggling and blushing at the boys more often than normal, and heard speaking of whom they hoped would ask them to the annual Valentine's Day Hogsmeade trip.

Ginny was quite glad she didn't have to find a date for the occasion; true, she normally had no problems finding dates, and she normally did have one, but it was still rather stressful. Seamus had asked her to go with him already about a month in advance, and Ginny laughed and said of course, who else was she supposed to go with, they _were_ seeing each other, for goodness sake.

One evening while in the common room, Ginny decided to ask Hermione what her and Ron's plans where for the holiday.

"Are you two planning on going to Hogsmeade? Or would that be too public for you?" Ginny asked, as the two girls sat in front of the fire.

"Well, we might go down for a little bit, just to go. I mean; we've gone together before when we weren't seeing each other, so there's nothing different about it there, but we will probably leave early. Ron says he has something planned for me, so I'm a little excited," Hermione explained.

Ginny grinned, "Yes, my dearest brother has a way with surprises. I'm sure you'll have a splendid time, though."

"Yes, we always have a good time together," Hermione said. "So then, what's Seamus planned for the holiday?"

"I don't know yet; he hasn't told me. I don't really mind, though. It's not that big of deal."

"But it's your first Valentine's Day together!"

"Yeah, but…" Ginny faded off.

"Still fancying Harry, are you?" Hermione guessed, with a satisfied look on her face.

"Well, yes! I know we're just friends and all, but it's pretty hard to let go of something you've been carrying with you for all this time. I can't help not loving him," Ginny sighed.

"I understand," Hermione said with a smile.

"I know."

"Last year, when I was seeing Lavender, she took me to this place that she really liked, and, well, I thought maybe you would like going there, too," Seamus informed Ginny the day before Valentine's Day.

"What's this place called again?" Ginny asked him.

"Madam Puddifoot's. Have you been there?"

"Yes…I went…last year," Ginny said. Leave it to Lavender to like a place like that. Ginny had gone there last year when she was dating the Ravenclaw Stephen Hudson, and hadn't liked it much then, which meant she probably wouldn't like it now, either. It just wasn't her style.

"Did you like it there, then?" Seamus asked anxiously.

"Oh, yes. Er, very much," Ginny nodded apprehensively.

"Good!" Seamus said excitedly. "Then we'll have a great time!"

"Yeah…"

Ginny awoke Valentine's morning with the winter sun shining on her face as nice good morning salute. She dressed in a jumper and pair of jeans, preparing for cold weather outside. After dressing, she met Hermione in the common room, and they went down to the Great Hall for breakfast, where Ginny indulged herself in sausage and kippers and a goblet of orange juice. Once the girls were finished their meals, they went up to the common room again, this time to prepare a little for the trip to Hogsmeade.

Ginny never was one for dressing up just for small occasions, so she simply pulled her long red hair up into a half-up half down ponytail, and tied a little bow where the ponytail was. She studied herself in the mirror, and decided that her appearance would do just fine. No reason to doll herself up too much. It was just Seamus.

After determining that everything about her was in order, Ginny took her cloak and left her dormitory. She and Seamus were meeting in the entrance hall, so she continued through the common room and out of the portrait hall. She descended the staircase, and walked into the entrance hall, which was a flurry of students waiting for their friends or dates so they could leave for Hogsmeade. Ginny milled around a bit, running into Harry as she looked for Seamus.

"Haven't you found Seamus yet?" Harry asked, as Ginny just about walked by him.

"Oh! Harry, hello. No, I can't seem to find him. You haven't seen him, have you?" she asked, stopping in front of Harry.

"Nope. And I can't find Bridget, either. Actually she's probably not even down here yet. I bet you she's still getting ready," he said, laughing.

"Yeah, well, what can you do?" Ginny smiled. _That's what you get for dating a superficial, conceited girl, _Ginny added silently to herself.

"Harry! I couldn't find—you," Bridget said, running up behind Harry, but then breaking off into the cold hearted person she was when she became aware that Ginny was talking with him. Her eyes narrowed, and a cruel sneer, one to challenge Malfoy's, really, drew across her face. "Hello, _Ginny_," she said, her head tilting down as if Ginny was a lowlife not worthy enough to be talking to her.

"Bridget," Ginny replied, flashing the girl an evil glare.

"Right, well, we better get going," Harry interjected, pushing his girlfriend ahead of him. "See you, Gin."

"Bye, Harry," Ginny said, as the two walked away. But Bridget's head remained back, staring Ginny down with malevolent eyes until they were far enough away for her not to be able to see Ginny anymore. _That witch! _Ginny thought, turning around, back to her search for Seamus.

"Ginny!" she heard her name called. Ginny turned to see Seamus standing a few feet away, with a rather large bouquet of red roses in his hands.

"Oh, Seamus! They're beautiful!" Ginny gasped, truly flattered at the gesture. "Thank you so much!"

"It's the least I could do! You're really the best, Ginny," Seamus said, pulling her into an embrace. Ginny felt a little guilty at this. She was definitely not living up to these standards that Seamus thought she was. Ginny gave him a quick peck on the lips as thanks, and a small smile formed on her lips.

"Thank you, Seamus, they're lovely."

"No, thank you," Seamus said, kissing her again. Ginny forced a wider smile, but a rather large pit had formed itself in her stomach.

"Well, I'm going to run these up to the common room so they don't die," Ginny said quickly. "I'll be right back, so stay right there."

Ginny ran back to the common room, where she conjured up a vase quickly, and put the roses in them. She sighed, and then left the common room again, hurrying down the staircase to where she left Seamus.

"So are you ready then?" he asked, taking her hand, and leading them out of the castle.

"Yes, I believe I am," Ginny said, smiling. She was so lucky to have him; he cared for her so much. If only she could live up to even half of the girlfriend he was to her. _I'm sorry,_ Ginny found herself saying silently as they walked through the castle grounds, and out of the entrance gate.

They followed the crowed of people into Hogsmeade Village, where they walked around a bit and had some small talk. It was around noontime when they decided that they were getting hungry, and Seamus said that they would go to Madam Puddifoot's.

Ginny and Seamus walked hand in hand to the little teahouse, which, when they arrived was rather full of many students and their dates talking or holding hands or snogging. They found a table in the corner of the tiny room, where they sat down, and took off their cloaks, for it was quite warm in there. Ginny looked around the room and cringed. It was a thoughtful thing for Seamus to take her here, but Madam Puddifoot's was about the last place she wanted to be. She would much rather be sitting in a booth at The Three Broomsticks, even with Seamus, than cramped in this stuffy little room full of snogging couples.

"What can I get you two lovebirds?" Ginny jumped in shock at hearing speaking, and looked up to see Madam Puddifoot standing above the two of them.

"I'll just have a coffee, thanks," Ginny said, and Seamus nodded in his agreement.

"Make that two," he said. After the woman had left, they talked a little more, about odd topics like their studies and teachers, and Seamus' upcoming N.E.W.T.s.

"Yes, they are already badgering us about studying for them. I mean, they're next June! That means we've got a whole year and more to study for them!" Ginny ranted. She hated being told to do something so early in advance.

"If you think they're bad now, just wait until next year," Seamus said, touching Ginny's hand. "They hound you almost every day about looking over these notes, or this exam. Seventh year has by far been the toughest, even worse than fifth."

Just as Seamus had finished speaking when Madam Puddifoot came back to their table, carrying a tray with their coffees on it. She placed them on the table, then walked away, but not without winking at the two of them before she left.

Ginny stirred in a little sugar and cream, and then took a sip. When she put her cup back down, she noticed that Seamus was looking at her with a strange expression on his face, something between a smile and admiration.

"What? Is there something on my face?" she asked, putting her hand to her cheek.

"No, I was just…" Seamus drifted off, shook his head, and looking downward, smiled again with a small laugh.

"Come again?" Ginny asked, tilting her head to the side.

"It's nothing, really. It's just, do you remember how earlier today I was telling you how you're such a good girlfriend, and how I couldn't ever ask for more?"

"Yes, why?" Ginny asked again, smiling some.

"Well, you really are wonderful. You're such a good person, so kind and caring. I'm so glad we're together," Seamus said taking Ginny's hand into his own.

"Thank you Seamus, you're great, too. You are so much more than I expected you to be," Ginny told him, taking in a deep breath, and her stomach churning from quilt.

"Thanks, Gin. But I guess what I'm getting at is that you mean so much to me, you probably don't even realize it. I knew when we first started dating that you were someone special, Gin, and you really are. I've never met any girl like you. You're fun, and free, and there's nothing about you not to like," Seamus explained. Ginny nodded her head, and a lump began to creep up in her throat.

"Wow—" Ginny began, but Seamus interrupted her.

"I'm not done yet, so hold on," he said smiling. Ginny nodded again, and closed her mouth. "Ginny, I've never felt this way about any other girl. You're truly amazing. I'm falling, no, I've fallen already; I _am_ in love with you, Ginny Weasley. Now I'm finished," he said, smiling at her again.

The lump in Ginny's throat had grown considerably, and she could feel tears beginning to well up in her eyes. She was definitely not ready for Seamus to tell her that he loved her. What should she say back? Would she even be able to say anything back?

"I…er…wow…erm…th-thanks…I, um, you too," Ginny managed to force out, a watery smile forming on her face.

"I didn't think I would make you cry, Gin, it's just how I feel," Seamus said, putting his other hand atop their already holding others.

"No, no, it's just, nobody's ever told me that before, and I wasn't ready, and—" another tear rolled down her cheek. Half of what she was saying was true. She was amazed at him telling her, and she wasn't ready for it, but now she felt incredibly guilty, guiltier than she ever felt during the whole time they had been going out. She had waited too long, now not only did he like her, but he _loved_ her. Now love was involved, and Ginny couldn't deal with it, especially since she did love someone who wasn't Seamus.

"Are you going to be all right?" Seamus asked, looking worried. "Maybe I shouldn't have…"

"No, no, Seamus, I'm—"

"There's not something you want to tell me is there?" he asked again, his worried expression growing. "You're not acting this way because—"

"No, I said all ready, I wasn't ready, and, and, th-this is a really big deal, and I…I'm sorry, I don't mean to get so emotional, nothing's w-wrong," Ginny said, trying to smile again. Something was wrong. Something was horribly wrong, and now she had to do something about it. "I think I want to leave," Ginny spoke again after a few moments of silence.

"Right. Me too," Seamus agreed, putting on his cloak, then helping Ginny with hers.

They walked out of Madam Puddifoot's and wandered around the village for a few more hours, but both of them could tell that things had gotten much more awkward between them. Conversation was few and far between, and Ginny was quite relived when the sun began to set around four o'clock, because then they could get back to the castle.

Seamus and Ginny headed back to Hogwarts, still walking in silence. Ginny didn't really know what to say to him, and if she opened her mouth she was afraid she might vomit on him. Her stomach was in complete knots, and she could not rid herself of the guilt she was feeling. There was really only one thing she could do. Break up with Seamus. Ginny wouldn't be able to do it now, not after he had told her that he loved her, but she would most definitely have to do it tomorrow. She could not go on seeing him when he loved her and she loved Harry. All of her rules were gone, now. She would have to tell him the truth.

When Seamus walked Ginny into the castle, he asked Ginny if she would join him at dinner, but she declined his offer.

"I'm not really that hungry…and I'm rather tired. I think I'm going to go to bed…" Ginny told him.

"Oh, all right then. I do love you," he replied with a sigh, and then kissed her lightly on the lips.

"I…know," Ginny said, biting her lip, and then turning to the staircase.

As Ginny ascended the stairs and walked to the Gryffindor Tower, her mind was bombarded with thought. She had to break up with Seamus. It wouldn't be right for her to stay with him now. Not with his love involved. She came to the Fat Lady, spoke the password ("Cupid") and continued into the common room. She sank into her favorite armchair for a few moments, and leaned her head back in contemplation. A few tears rolled down her cheek, and she hiccupped. Wiping her eyes, she abandoned her chair and walked up to her dormitory. This was to be a long night, a very long night.

**A/N: Okay, this is pretty much the beginning of the all the action. The next chapter is huge (event wise, I mean). So stay tuned!**


	14. Valentine’s Night: An Unexpected Meeting

Chapter 14: Valentine's Night: An Unexpected Meeting

Chapter Summary: Ginny is restless with guilt. She can't sleep, and goes down to the common room only to find another insomnia-ridden soul—Harry. They begin talking, and the real magic between them unfurls. After long, long last, this is the chapter you've all been waiting for!

Ginny rolled over in her bed. She was awake again. She had drifted in-between periods of sleep and semi-consciousness. Now was one of those times when she was feeling awake. She had been restless; when she did manage to sleep she was haunted by the day's events, reliving Seamus' confession over and over again until she would wake up sobbing. Then she would think herself back to sleep, thinking of how to break up with him, and when. No, not when. She had to do it tomorrow, she really did. She could not go on with him when he loved her now, not while she still loved Harry.

Turning again, Ginny shifted herself up on her elbows, and fumbled her hand around on her nightstand, reaching for her wand. She found it, and whispered "Lumos," when she then shone the light over she nightstand again, until she found her watch so she could see what time it was now. This was the eighth time she had done this tonight. 12:56. That's all it was? All right, so she had gone to bed at five o'clock, but it was only 12:56? Ginny sighed, and shifted in her bed. She tried closing her eyes, but it was no use. No more than two minutes later they had popped open again, not allowing her to sleep. _Well I'm up,_ she thought, _there's no point in trying to fall asleep again._

Ginny lit her wand again, quietly climbed out of bed, and slipped on her robe over her nightshirt. She slid into her slippers, which were next to her bed, then pulled a blanket around her shoulders, and tiptoed out of her dormitory, careful not to awake any of her roommates. She descended the staircase, and walked silently into the outskirts of the common room. She noticed that a few embers in the fire were still glowing, and it produced a small amount of warm light in the room, so she muttered "nox," and her wand went out.

However, as soon as she uttered these words, something sitting in a chair in front of the fire jumped several feet into the air. This caused Ginny to jump, and whomever it was, to fall off of the chair and turn back, looking frightened at the already shocked Ginny.

"Harry!" she gasped, after seeing his face illuminated by the small glow of the fire. "You gave me a fright!"

"I gave you a fright!" Harry said, motioning to his spot on the floor, and then pulling himself up and back into the chair.

"I'm sorry, I—well…what are you doing down here, anyway?" Ginny asked, changing the subject.

"Couldn't sleep…I've got a lot on my mind," Harry said, motioning for her to come join him on the chair. "What about you? Why are you up so late?"

"Same reason. Couldn't sleep, and I've got a lot on my mind, too," Ginny explained, taking a seat next to Harry. "You look upset. What are you thinking about?"

"It's really not that important," Harry said, sighing deeply. "So how was your Valentine's Day with Seamus?"

"Harry, don't try and change the subject. If you must know, it was…fine. And if something's bothering you, of course it is important. Tell me," Ginny said with a smile, "I want to know." Hearing about Harry's problems might make her feel better about her own.

"Mine's going to take longer than yours," Harry said, grinning some. "So you go on first. I'm all ears," he said. Harry always had a way with getting things out of her.

Ginny took a deep breath in, and looked into the fire before opening her mouth to speak, "I know I just said that I had a fine time with Seamus today, but that was a lie. I didn't have a good time at all. Well, I did, up until something happened."

"What happened? He didn't do anything to hurt you, did he?" Harry asked, his brow furrowing slightly.

" Seamus—he, er, told me that he l-loved me today," Ginny said with a stutter. She really didn't want to be thinking about Seamus' words at this moment in time, and she looked down and took a wavering breath in.

"Really? That's…er…congratulations," Harry smiled warmly at her, but Ginny noticed that it looked a tad insincere. "Why don't you look too happy about it?"

"Because I'm not," Ginny said, her voice quavering a bit again.

"Why? You should be happy," Harry told her, his smile drooping.

"But I'm not. I don't feel the same way about him. To tell you the truth, I don't even like him like that. I mean, there he is falling in love with me, and then there's me, feeling for him only as a friend. I feel dreadful about it. I know I've got to break up with him, but I guess I'm scared to."

"Why are you scared? You shouldn't be scared of the telling him the truth," Harry said.

"Oh, but I am. I can't even tell him the whole truth," Ginny said, staring into the fire.

"What is the whole truth?" Harry asked her.

"It…doesn't matter. All that matters is that I don't feel the same about him and that it's unfair for him to love me when all I do is like him," Ginny sighed.

"It does matter what the whole truth is," Harry said.

"I know, but I can't say it."

"Why not?" he whispered.

"Because I just can't."

"Oh, well, then I do understand about your problem, though."

"How?" Ginny asked him. What did he understand about it? He had the perfect girlfriend, who he obviously felt strongly about, how did he know how she felt? Ginny frowned, "how do you understand? Is it something with Bridget?"

"Actually, yes, that's part of it," Harry said, staring into the fire in turn.

"It is?" Ginny asked, but not thinking about herself, for once, when she said it. She honestly wanted to know, not because she wanted Harry, but because she didn't want Harry to be in pain. "Well I want to hear everything then."

Ginny could see the look in Harry's eyes. He was right, she could see; it wasn't all Bridget he was thinking about. He got that look in his eyes when he was worried about something important to him, she had seen that look when he was remembering Sirius or contemplating the prophecy. She also knew Harry's reluctance to discuss his feelings, even if it was with her. She was the first one he came to with the problems of Sirius' death and the prophecy two years ago, and Ginny planned to stand by him through whatever this problem was, too.

Harry looked at Ginny, and sighed, "I've been coming down here a lot lately. I can't sleep anymore, it's just been weighing down my mind."

"What has?" she asked.

"Everything. Ginny, I can feel it. It's coming. And Bridget, she means nothing. Hurting you, it's not fair. I don't want to, Gin—" he put his head down in his hands and took in a deep breath.

Ginny was confused for a moment, but her brain put together his words that made only partial sense. He was scared. Scared about what was to come in his life. Harry had been allowing the prophecy's truth to eat away at himself. It was all making sense now. Bridget, she was just an excuse. He did have feelings for Ginny; he didn't want to hurt her. But how would he hurt her? She didn't understand that.

"I'm sorry," Harry whispered roughly.

"Sorry for what?" Ginny asked him, her head lowering to meet his eyes.

"For acting this way."

"There is nothing to be sorry about, Harry. Lord…I wish I could tell you I know how you feel, but I can't. I admire you, Harry. You carry so much with you, the least you can do is cry," Ginny said gently.

"I—I don't want to," Harry muttered, putting is head down again.

"I know you don't," she replied calmly, but getting a lump in her own throat, seeing Harry like this. Truthfully, Ginny wasn't sure exactly what she was replying to. There was so much he could be saying he didn't want to do, but she thought there was a chance of him saying "no" to it all.

Harry lifted his head up from his hands, his eyes, though bloodshot, gleamed in the low firelight and he looked at Ginny again. "I need you," he whispered.

With that, he leant over, and very gently kissed her lips. Ginny didn't know what to think now, except that she would follow through with Harry's wishes as best she could. She would do anything and everything in her power to ease his pain.

They broke away, and a single glistening tear fell from Ginny's eye. She lifted her hand, and wiped it away, but Harry took it into his own hand, and then kissed the spot where it had been. Their lips met again, and Ginny realized the reality of the situation. She was here with Harry. He needed her, mentally and physically. She needed the same from him, but she suspected not nearly as much as he needed her.

The simple peck escalated to more, as Harry's hand tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, and laid his hand on the side of her face. Ginny couldn't ignore the fact that she was surprised at what was going on; she hadn't expected to even find Harry down here tonight, let alone having an intense conversation with him that would eventually lead to this. But she wasn't stopping him. Everything she needed and wanted from Harry, it seemed he needed it or wanted it more.

Harry's hand left the side of Ginny's face as they kissed more fervently, and her robe was soon thrown on the floor. All Ginny knew was that this was how it was supposed to be, her and Harry, and nothing was more perfect than this moment. She pushed her body against his, letting their energy flow between them. They soon found out the armchair was not big enough for the both of them, so they abandoned it, lying in front of the fire on the blanket that Ginny had brought down with her.

Ginny put her hands on either side of Harry's face, still kissing him. She was ravished; she was insatiable for Harry and needed him now more than ever. She inhaled deeply for a proper breath of air when Harry's lips left hers and relocated to her neck. His hands gently skirted her body, and Ginny felt something unusual in her lower abdomen, but she didn't care. They kissed again, and she pushed her hand against Harry's chest, taking in how his breathing caused it to move up and down quite rapidly.

Before she even knew it, Harry's tee shirt was off, revealing his suitably sculpted, Quidditch trained, body. He was sweating, and Ginny became was aware that she was, too. She swallowed deeply as her nightshirt found its way to her robe, which was lying a few feet away.

And then they were staring at each other. They were sitting up, in front of the fire, and looking deep into each other's eyes. Harry's eyes were much larger than normal, catching all of the firelight. They glistened an even more surreal emerald, and Ginny took in a deep breath. It was like he was seeing into the depths of her mind and her heart, comforting her soul. They stayed like that for a moment or two.

Ginny tilted her head down eventually, but Harry's hand reached over gently tilted her chin up. He kissed her lightly on the forehead, and then reached out his other hand to her. Ginny was trembling; she knew what was going to happen next. She let out a shaking hand, trying hard to control it. Harry smiled warmly at her, and she smiled back, coughing up a small laugh. Her hand stopped shaking.

Harry's hand re-found itself on the side of Ginny's face, and he kissed her lightly on the lips again. He broke away and smiled. "Are you scared?" he whispered in her ear softly.

"Not at all," Ginny said back quietly, smiling slightly. She wasn't scared. She felt more comfortable with him now more than she ever had before. She could never even fathom taking this step with anybody else but Harry. She was ready, no, more than ready. She needed this. She needed Harry.

This time, Ginny was the one to kiss him, pushing him down onto the blanketed floor, and falling with him. Their bodies entwined, and Ginny's mind floated away…

Ginny lifted her head, taking in deep breaths, shaking her dampened hair out of her face. Harry kissed her again lightly, his lips trembling as he did so.

"Are you all right?" Ginny asked, looking deeply into his eyes.

"Never been better," he grinned between heavy breaths. He kissed her again, first on the neck, then slowly moving his way back to her lips.

Ginny laid her head on Harry's bare chest and closed her eyes. She was floating, off on some cloud. She was light as air, with no fear or worry. Everything was right. It was just she and Harry, with nothing between them at all. Ginny felt Harry's fingers slowly run through her hair, and she smiled. _He's everything,_ she thought.

The two stayed like that for a while, not saying anything to each other, just letting their soft caresses and thoughts about themselves do the talking.

Ginny's mind was afloat with thoughts about what she and Harry had just done, with what they had become. They were connected now, in a way Ginny was almost certain would never happen between them. Just when she thought they were only going to be friends, that she was going to have to carry the burden of unrequited love on her back forever, it happens. _Harry_ happens. It was all there. It always had been. He needed her now, and she was going to be there for him every step of the way. It was if fate had waited until the perfect moment to make them come together, and it picked the most ideal time Ginny could even hope for. There was nothing more that she could ask for in her life, she was fulfilled. Her heart was truly full now.

"Ginny," Harry whispered to her, after a long period of silence.

"Yes?" she replied.

"Thank you."

"Thank you for what?"

"For helping me."

Ginny smiled to herself. "You're welcome."

Harry kissed her cheek gently and opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it. Ginny bit her lip, and looked Harry in the eyes again. It was if she was forgetting something. She then yawned, and figured it would be time for her to get some real sleep. She didn't want to leave, though. She was perfectly content with being right here with Harry. She could probably spend eternity here with him. Time could go on without them, just leave them there for each other. It was all she needed, just the two of them forever.

"Everything's about to change," Harry whispered to her as they lay there together, a small smile breaking through on his face.

Ginny nodded, "I know." He was right everything was about to change. Everything they had talked about was going to happen, sooner or later, and Ginny wouldn't leave his side at all. She rested her head back on his bare chest, and closed her eyes.

Ginny opened her eyes, not sure of how long she had been napping for. It mustn't have been too long, because it was still dark. She looked to Harry, who seemed to be sleeping soundly. _I really should be getting to bed_, she thought, looking to the dormitory staircasethen back to Harry. She didn't want to leave him here, but she didn't want to wake him, either. He looked too peaceful, and she couldn't disturb that.

She gathered herself, and slipped back on her nightshirt. Before leaving, she tiptoed back to Harry, and gently kissed him on the cheek, and whispered, "goodnight, love," and then headed up the girls' dormitory stair. But she couldn't help feeling like she had forgotten something important.

Arriving in her dormitory and climbing into her bed, Ginny suddenly remembered what she had forgotten. _I love him,_ she thought to herself. _Wait…I forgot—!_ Ginny ran out of her dormitory as fast as she could, racing down the stairs so that her night could be complete. "Harry," she said, walking into the common room. "I—love you." But he had already gone.

**A/N: Okay, so I know you're all just itching to leave me a review, so tell me what you thought of the chapter! Fifteen will be along soon, and believe me, it gets better!**


	15. Oh What a Tangled Web She Weaves

Chapter 15: Oh, What a Tangled Web She Weaves

Chapter summary: Seamus knows, and Ginny has another talk with Hermione and finds out that Hermione knows a lot more than she originally thought. Ginny finds out what Harry really thinks about "them" and then turns to a rash decision.

Ginny awoke the next morning with a smile on her face. So she had to break up with Seamus today. The whole situation just seemed to be a lot easier on her mind now that she had Harry to turn to. He would be breaking up with Bridget, of course. There was no way he could stay with her now, not after he confessed that she had meant nothing to him and then made love with Ginny. Everything was going to fall into place now. Ginny and Harry would be together, and she would be there by his side whenever he needed her.

She climbed out of bed on that Saturday morning, dressed warmly, for it was quite cold out, and went down to the common room. It was around eleven in the morning, so most of Ginny's fellow Gryffindors were awake. She wandered around the room, having light conversation with her classmates, when she found Hermione seated by the fire, reading a book.

"Hermione," Ginny said, walking over to where she was sitting, "I have some big news to tell you."

"Really? What is it?" Hermione asked, looking up from her reading and to Ginny.

"I'm breaking up with Seamus," she said with a smile. Hermione's eyes widened in shock as a voice came up from behind the two of them.

"Not if I break up with you first," said the cold, hurt sounding voice of Seamus from behind Ginny.

"S-Seamus—" Ginny began, but was cut off.

"Just stop. We're through," he said bitterly, his stare digging into Ginny like ice picks. From the corner of her eye, Ginny saw Hermione inch out of the scene quickly.

"Seamus, I don't know—"

"You know perfectly well and you don't need to explain anything. I already know what happened between you and Harry last night," Seamus said to her. The pain on his face made Ginny ache with remorse.

"You—you—h-how?" Ginny asked, her eyes beginning to fill with tears.

"Bridget told me everything. Harry broke up with her this morning and she thought I had a right to know what was going on behind our backs. Seeing as _you_ probably wouldn't have told me."

"No, I was going to, I swear!" she pleaded with him. But what really got her out of those words was that Bridget knew. How could've Harry told her? That wasn't like Harry to spill the details of what happened in his personal life at all.

"How long's it been going on?" Seamus continued.

"Wha—" Ginny gulped.

"I said how long has it been going on?" Seamus asked again with more force and through gritted teeth.

"J-just last night, I swear it, Seamus!" Ginny cried.

"Why, Ginny, why? Why couldn't you just have turned your head when he tried to kiss you?" Seamus looked at her, and his eyes softened to a pained, saddened expression.

"I—I don't know. I didn't know it would lead to us making love—"

"YOU SLEPT WITH HIM?" Seamus ranted, his eyes flashing malevolently. Ginny was right to think that Harry wouldn't have told Bridget everything, and she had just said too much. The whole common room was now turned in their direction.

"Seamus, I—" she whimpered, not used to seeing him in such a rage.

"WHERE'S THE BASTARD? I'LL KILL HIM!" he yelled with fury.

"No! Seamus, I didn't—I'm sorry!"

Seamus took a step back, his fists clenched and breathing heavily, looking around at the startled Gryffindors around him. "Ginny," he whispered, "how could you? After I told you how that I loved you?"

"Seamus, I…I'm sorry, I really am! It's just…" Ginny trailed off.

"It's just what?" Seamus asked her, looking at her with pleading eyes.

"I—I don't love you, Seamus. I don't—I don't even like you that way. My feelings for you are no more than a friend, I'm _so sorry_," Ginny sighed, tears falling from her eyes. The look on Seamus' face as she said this was tearing her up inside. She had never felt worse in her life than right now. All of those times when she felt bad about loving Harry and not Seamus, all of those times where she wanted to break up with Seamus, they were nothing compared to what she was feeling now.

"I was…right then. When I suspected your feelings for Harry?"

Ginny nodded sadly, "Yes."

"But why then? Why did you wait so long?" he asked her.

"Because…because I needed you Seamus! I was being selfish! I lo—liked Harry, and he was with Bridget, and then you came to me, and you helped get my mind off of him for the time being! But then I started feeling guilty about it, but knew I was too deep in to break up with you, and I would have to tell you the truth. I couldn't do that. So I let things go on, I know it was wrong, and I shouldn't have, but—but…then you told me you loved me…that's when I knew I had let things go too far. I wasn't in control of the situation anymore; your feelings were involved now. I was going to break up with you today, Harry or no Harry. It's just that…. when I went to the common room last night to think things over a bit…he was there…. and…and…I'm sorry Seamus, I really am," Ginny was in practical hysterics now. She felt miserable about all of the pain that she had caused.

"So…" Seamus said, then giving a dry cough.

"I…"

"That's it then," he said. "We're done."

"I'm _sorry_," Ginny pleaded with him one last time.

"Don't be, it would've happened anyway," Seamus replied coldly.

"Please—"

"No. I'm just sorry it had to end _this_ way," he said with a sigh, and then he turned on his heel and left Ginny standing there cold.

She was frozen. _What just happened?_ she asked herself. Ginny was crying again, and really hated herself for the pain that she had caused Seamus. She had to find Harry. There was a good chance he was going through the same thing with Bridget right now, and they could comfort each other. He wasn't in the common room; she had already determined that much. Ginny wiped her eyes dry, and walked out of the portrait hole, with quite a few eyes following her on her way out.

Ginny walked fast in the corridors. She really wanted to find Harry; she needed to talk to him. But how would she start explaining things? _Well, _she thought, _I suppose I could say, "Seamus just broke up with me because your ex-girlfriend told him what happened between us last night, but you didn't tell her everything, and I thought you did and let us making love slip, and now he's reeling. Now what about us?"_ That was a possibility. _No, that sounded like I was rambling,_ Ginny decided, so she figured that she would just let things come out on their own, and if it sounded like she was rambling or flustered, well, Harry would understand.

Ginny walked around the castle, stopping at all the places she knew that Harry could be found. He wasn't in the Great Hall or in the Library (though she doubted very much that he would be in there, but you never know), and he wasn't wandering the corridors, either. By the time she made it back to the portrait hole, she had circled the castle three times and lost an hour and a half of the day. She decided to go back to the common room; with Ginny's luck, he was probably there the whole time she was looking for him.

However, when she entered the common room, all she found was he usual group of Gryffindors who inhabited it, and Hermione back in her spot by the fire. Ginny walked over to her, aware that a few students who had heard Seamus yelling at her earlier were watching as she made her way across the room.

"What on earth was that about?" Hermione asked as Ginny neared where she was sitting.

"I'll tell you, but can we go somewhere a little less, er, populated?" Ginny asked, eying the common room with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course," Hermione said, and the two girls left the common room to Hermione's empty dormitory. Once they were situated, Hermione started the conversation with Ginny again. "I came up here when Seamus started going off; I didn't want to eavesdrop and intrude on your personal matters. Even though it was pretty clear the rest of the house didn't agree with me."

"Yes, well, now everyone knows about our not so perfect relationship. Used to be relationship, rather," Ginny added with a shrug. "I just wanted to come up here because I don't want anybody overhearing some other things."

Hermione nodded, then said, "And I'm here to listen."

"Right. Well, it all started yesterday during the Hogsmeade trip. Seamus and I were eating in the dreadful Madam Puddifoot's, and then he told me that he loved me. I got really upset, because I knew then that everything was out of my hands, and I couldn't control what was happening anymore since Seamus loved me. I decided that I needed to break up with him."

"Why didn't you break up with him then?" Hermione asked.

"Because I didn't think it was necessary. Plus I really had no idea of what I was going to say to him. So I planned to do it today. Anyway, when we got back to the castle, I went straight to bed. I wasn't really in the mood to see any other people, and I wanted to be alone. But after six hours of restless sleep, I decided to go down to the common room. When I got there, I discovered Harry. We began talking," Ginny decided to leave what exactly they talked about out; after all, what Harry had told her was probably something he had not told Hermione or Ron yet, "and then, well, we kissed, and it led to more."

"I see. So you cheated on Seamus after he told you he loved you. Do you feel guilty about it?" Hermione asked her.

"Of course! But I thought everything was going to run a lot smoother since I would have Harry behind me—"

"—But how do you know Harry is going to be behind you?" Hermione interrupted.

Ginny's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

"How do you know Harry's going to want to be with you now?" she articulated.

"Why wouldn't he? He told me how he really felt…about me…and Bridget, and why would he have done that with me if he didn't plan on having a real relationship?" Ginny asked.

Hermione looked at the ceiling, and made a soft clicking sound with her tongue.

"Has Harry talked to you—what do you know?" Ginny spitted out.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You know something! Harry's talked to you about me, hasn't he? What has he said? He's got feelings for me; he's got to! What's he said?" Ginny fumed.

"I think you need to talk to Harry," Hermione said placidly.

"Not before you tell me what you know!" Ginny said through gritted teeth.

"I'm not saying that I know anything! All I'm saying is that I suggest you talk to Harry about the situation, and find out what he really thinks," Hermione explained.

"Fine. Fine!" Ginny huffed, and hurried out of Hermione's room in a rush. _She knows something! And she hasn't told me! I can't believe her!_ Ginny thought wildly as she continued to her own dormitory. _Harry's said something to her about me and now she won't tell me what it is!_ She was a little angry now, and wanted to find Harry more than ever. She knew she most likely wouldn't find him in the common room, and figured that she would just have to wait until dinner that night. That was her best chance at finding him and asking if they could talk later.

Ginny spent the rest of the day until dinner bored in her dormitory. She didn't want to go to the common room because of the people in there, and there really was no other place to go. She read a little, and mostly just sat and looked outside until it was time to go to the Great Hall for dinner. Ginny was relieved when the bell sounding dinner rang, because she was terribly bored, but she did get time to think about what she was going to say to Harry.

Ginny walked down to the Great Hall, ignoring some of the looks that were being flashed her way as she passed in the corridors. People were bound to talk, they always did. But Ginny didn't care; just as long as she got everything sorted out with Harry nothing anybody could think or say could bring her down.

Taking a spot by herself at the Gryffindor table, Ginny tried to locate Harry. She found him sitting with Ron and Hermione, but he looked extremely quiet and downtrodden. She tried getting his attention, but her attempts failed miserably. After dinner was over, she tried catching up with him, but it seemed like he was not only ignoring her, but trying to avoid her, too. Ginny called his name, but he didn't even look back at her. She got caught behind a rush of students exiting the Great Hall, and lost sight of Harry. Ginny bit her lip impatiently, and pushed hurriedly through the crowd. She got quite a few, "hey's!" and "watch out's!" as she trod over a few toes, but didn't really care. She finally pushed out of the mass of students, and ran up to the common room, only to find that Harry was not there. However, Ron was.

"Ron!"

"What?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Where's Harry?"

"He went to bed."

"Of course…" Ginny said, rolling her eyes.

"Why do you need him?" Ron asked, taking an odd interest.

"I need to talk to him."

"Well he went to bed in kind of a rush. He was unhappy about something. I dunno why, though. Probably because he broke up with Bridget…but wouldn't that make him happy?" Ron stared off a little.

"AARG!" Ginny ejected loudly.

"What's the matter now?" Ron looked back to her.

"I told you, I need to talk to Harry! It's important! He's avoiding me and I really need to speak with him!"

"About what?" Ron asked.

"It doesn't matter." Ginny said with a sigh.

"Yes it does. If it has to do with you, it matters," Ron said, crossing his arms. Ginny's eyes narrowed. She hated it when Ron got protective.

"I really don't want to talk about it. It's between me and Harry, that's all."

"Well if it's between you and Harry that gives me even more reason to need to know!" Ron spat.

"You don't _need_ to know anything! I'm going to bed!" Ginny said with a huff and turned on her heal out of the common room. It was yet another early night to bed.

It had been another uneasy night when Ginny finally pried her eyes open Sunday morning. She had a pretty good idea of what she would say to Harry now, and had spent the greater part of the night thinking about it. But if she would even get to talk to Harry today was another story, depending on whether or not he was deciding to avoid her.

Ginny dressed and went down to the common room, which was surprisingly empty for this time of morning. Except for one person, the one person who she had been particularly keen on speaking with.

"Harry!"

"We need to talk," he replied solemnly.

"I know, that's why—why do you look so…depressed?" Ginny changed what she was originally going to say.

Harry opened his mouth to speak, and lifted a hand, but then dropped it and closed his mouth.

"Seamus broke up with me," Ginny broke the silence with a small smile.

"I heard," Harry answered dully.

"Well, now we can…"

"Now we can what?"

"You know! Be together!" Ginny said rather frantically.

"Er…we…can't be together, Gin," Harry told her with a sullen expression on his face.

At once, Ginny felt a familiar lump arise in her throat and tears well up in her eyes. "W-why not?" How could this be happening? Harry had practically said that he wanted to be with her, why else would he have even kissed her, let alone go as far as they did?

"Ginny, I regret it," he continued simply.

"You r-regret what?" she sputtered.

"You know, don't—don't play that. I'm trying to make this easy…"

"You regret it?" Ginny asked, her temper starting to rise. "You _regret_ it?"

"I—I shouldn't have kissed you. I shouldn't have let things go that far, I'm sorry. I should've been reasonable and thought of all the pain I would cause but I wasn't, and I'm sorry. But we can't be together," Harry explained.

"Why not, Harry? I _slept_ with you and now you're telling me that we can't be together? _Why_?" Ginny asked, not really sure if she should be angry or sad. She was both right now.

"Ginny…you're…Ron's _little_ sister!" he said, a bit impatiently.

"Of course! I should have known! I knew that's what I've always been; I supposed it was stupid of me to think otherwise, especially when we were _making love together_," Ginny spat at him. She was angry now.

"See! You don't understand! You're too young, Ginny; you don't know what you're feeling! I went too far! I made the mistake!"

"Oh, I see! I'm the baby; I just have a kiddy crush on you, do I? So if I'm too little for you, Harry, what's Bridget? She's as old as me!" Ginny yelled at him.

"Bridget's different!" Harry quarreled.

"Really? How?"

"She's not you!"

"Well that sure is an answer if I've ever heard one!"

"Ginny, I can't be with my best friend's kid sister! I just can't! You're too young; I got carried away! I'm sorry!" Harry looked down, and Ginny could tell he was feeling guilty with himself. But she didn't care. She was going to make him feel as guilty as he could for putting her through this.

"I'm not," she said coldly.

Harry looked at her. She could have sworn she heard him say to words "not" and "little girl" under his breath, but then he opened his mouth. "Even if I did have feelings for you, it wouldn't matter. It's the whole reason why we can't be together anyway."

Ginny's eyes softened a little bit at this. Was he coming around? Or was he thinking up some other excuse since he couldn't back up the "you're too young" one? "What are you saying?" she asked.

"You aren't going to want to hear this, and I didn't want to tell you because you're not going to understand."

"I will, and you're going to tell me," Ginny said sternly.

"I can't have feelings for you. I went too far with you the other night and I can't let anything like that happen again," he explained.

"You've already made that clear," Ginny bit her lip.

"We can't be together. It's—not safe. For you."

"What? 'Not safe for me'? What are you talking about?" Ginny rebuked.

"I can't have you in any danger, and I can't like you, Ginny, end of story," Harry said, sounding annoyed.

"How am I supposed to be in any danger? It's you Harry! You!"

"Ginny! Do you know what could happen if Voldemort found out that I had feelings for you? I can't have you in danger, Ginny!" he yelled at her.

Ginny snorted. "Voldemort? You're bringing Voldemort into this? You are pathetic!"

"You're calling me pathetic now, when I'm trying to protect you? You obviously don't recall what happened during my fifth year when Voldemort found out how I cared for Sirius. Well he _died_, Ginny, and I doubt very much you want to meet your demise the same way!"

"I can't believe you! First of all, I'm a big girl, Harry! I can take care of myself—"

"Sirius thought he was capable too! But he was obviously wrong!" Harry interjected.

"I CAN take care of myself, Harry! You know, if you don't like me, you don't have to make up lame excuses to why we can't be together! Just think how your thick actions are going to make the next girl feel before you go and sleep with her!" Ginny hollered, and with that strode out of the common room.

Ginny was livid. Irate with what Harry had just told her. How could he be so…so uncaring! How could be so intimate with her and then tell her that he didn't feel anyway about her? How could he make up excuses, and of all things bring Voldemort into them, to tell her that they couldn't be together! Ginny didn't love Harry anymore. Oh no, she loathed him with every fiber of her being. She couldn't stand the boy and wouldn't care if she never saw him again! She couldn't get over the fact of what he had done to her, though. How he had hurt her. She needed to hurt him, make him feel what she was feeling. She needed revenge.

Ginny walked up to the Owlery, and on her way stopped in an empty classroom. There, she found a spare piece of parchment and quill with inkbottle, and she scratched out a note.

_Meet me in front of the Tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy on the seventh floor_ _at nine o'clock tonight. Don't be late; I'll be waiting for you. _

_G.W. _

_Perfect_, Ginny thought, then rolled it up and tied it with a piece of string she pulled off of the inside of her robes. She continued to the Owlery, and once she was there, located Ron's owl, Pig, and called him down.

"Here, I need you to take this straight away, it's very important. Make sure he gets it in the next few hours. It's in the castle, so it shouldn't take you too long," Ginny spoke to Pigwidgeon, then watch the small owl fly out of the window a few meters, then delve into another one.

Ginny stood in silence for a few moments. Taking in a stuttered breath, she wondered if she was doing the right thing. Would she ever be able to forgive herself for it? But then she remembered her pain and her attitude changed. This had to be done and she would see it through to the end.

**A/N: The drama! What will Ginny do next? Stay tuned for the next chapter! I hope you liked it, leave me a review!**

**The chapter title is from Sir Walter Scott's quote "O what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive." I thought it would be perfect to use, so I just changed the 'we' to 'she'.**


	16. Revenge and Rumors

Chapter 16: Revenge and Rumors

Chapter Summary: Ginny meets Malfoy outside of the Room of Requirement, and her revenge to Harry plays out. However, she doesn't feel completely right about what is being done, and surprises herself at what she does next. But that doesn't mean rumors won't find a way to be started.

When Ginny left dinner that evening, she didn't go back to the common room. She headed straight for the Room of Requirement, where she would meet him. Her heart was racing as she climbed the stairs to the seventh floor. Ginny was very nervous at what exactly was going to take place that night, and she still didn't know everything that _was _going to happen between them. She tried pushing aside her comfort level, and thought about the one thing that was keeping her going on this plan: her revenge to Harry.

As far as Ginny was concerned, Harry didn't even have to find out about what she was going to do. Just knowing herself what she had done was enough to make her feel that she had proper vengeance. But if he did find out, that would be an added bonus to the situation.

Ginny finally came upon the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy and the dancing trolls, when she walked past the opposite wall three times, thinking to herself, _I need a place where I can get my revenge on Harry with his least favorite person_, a few times over. Suddenly, a door appeared on the once flat wall. Ginny swallowed nervously and then twisted the doorknob to reveal the room inside.

There was a crackling fire blazing in the hearth, and a bureau with what looked like quite few potions stood next to it. A full-length mirror hung on the wall beside the bureau, and on the opposite wall was a large, four-poster bed. Ginny's heart began to race at the site of this, anxiety of what could take place tonight creeping through her veins. _Stop it,_ she thought to herself, _this has to be done._ She looked at the clock mounted to the wall. It read 8:30; that gave her a half an hour to prepare what she needed.

Ginny walked over to the mirror and pulled down her hair. She shook her head, and let her loose waves fall beneath her shoulders. Being that it was the weekend, she wasn't wearing her school uniform, but she was dressed in a white blouse and navy pleated skirt. She hastily unbuttoned the top buttons of her blouse and frowned.

Then, Ginny looked at herself in the mirror again. She always had trouble picturing herself being "voluptuous" and she knew he would probably take her however she looked, but she thought that maybe she could set a mood. If not for him, then for herself. Maybe it would make her feel better about what she was doing if she looked the part of a vixen, even if she didn't feel it.

Ginny looked over at the clock mounted on the wall. It now read 8:58. He would be here any moment. She opened the door, and looked out. Sure enough, there he was standing in front of the tapestry, his hands in his pockets and looking down one of the corridors.

"Draco," Ginny said, with an air of mystery to her voice that didn't sound like her own.

A thin smile broke on his face, and he turned to her in the doorway. Draco kissed her hard, and then broke away and said, "It's nice to see that you've finally come to your senses."

"I have," Ginny replied, and she pulled him through the door, closing it tight, and turning the lock behind her.

"What is this place? I've been here before, I think," Draco asked, looking around the room.

"The Room of Requirement. It only appears when the user really needs it."

"Needs what, exactly?"

"Anything," Ginny replied, raising an eyebrow.

"I see," Draco said with a smirk, and then he walked over to her and kissed her again.

As he kissed her, Ginny's heart was racing. She couldn't believe she was actually doing this. She couldn't believe she was allowing Malfoy to actually touch her body like this. His kisses intensified, and Ginny wondered how many other mouths those lips had touched. The thought made her insides grimace a little, but then she realized that Malfoy was beginning to unbutton her blouse. He was working a little too quickly for her liking, and she moved her hand to stop him, but his other hand intercepted it before she could do anything else.

As her blouse fell, Malfoy's hand skimmed lightly up her front, and sent shivers down her spine. She broke away from him at this, her mind racing with thoughts. _I can't do this…I really can't do this,_ she thought as Draco looked at her and smiled.

Draco led the two of them to the large four-poster, and took off his own shirt in the process. As they fell on to the bed, Ginny's heart was in her throat. Malfoy pressed his body against hers again, but she found herself pulling away; she couldn't do this, revenge or not.

"What's wrong," Draco asked covertly.

"N-nothing, I—"

"—Good," he interrupted, and then kissed her again, laying his hands on her.

Ginny felt vomit rising in her stomach, her actions making her sick. She moved Malfoy's hand, and got off the bed, her face stricken with horror. She couldn't do this, not with the boy who had made the people she loved hurt in so many ways. She was appalled at herself for actually thinking she could go through with this. Ginny looked at Draco.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked, his face twisted with what looked like anger and surprise.

"I can't do this," Ginny whispered back, tears welling in her eyes.

"You're joking, right? You slept with Potter and you won't even go as far as snog _me_? What is wrong with you?"

"I'd like to know that same thing," Ginny sobbed, picking up her blouse and putting it on askew, then leaving the room with Malfoy staring at her, perplexed.

Ginny ran down the corridor, not even aware that if she was caught out of her dormitory this late she would be heading for trouble. She ran down the staircase, tears falling from her eyes and blurring her vision. After a few more moments, she heard her name being called behind her.

"Ginny!" it was a female's voice, not the person's who she would have expected it to be calling after her. The voice called again. Ginny looked around this time, to see Hermione standing at the opposite end of the corridor to where she was standing. _Corridor patrol, _Ginny thought, and dried her eyes as she began moving to here Ginny was positioned. The Head Boy and Girl had to patrol the corridors after hours, and Hermione was obviously doing just that. "Ginny," Hermione said as she neared closer, "what are you doing out of the Common Room? You know you can get in serious trouble for being out at this hour!"

"Oh. Right," Ginny sniffed. She hadn't even thought of that as she left the Room of Requirement minutes earlier.

"What's wrong? You're not crying because I—"

"No, It's nothing, and I'm not crying because you caught me out after hours," Ginny interrupted.

"Then what is it? What's happened?" Hermione asked, her duty as friend kicking itself in gear, and forgetting about both her duty and the small row that they had had yesterday.

Ginny sighed. Could she actually go as far to tell Hermione what happened, or almost happened, between her and Malfoy?

"Is it something with Harry?" Hermione asked again, as they began walking down another flight of stairs to the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Well, actually…" it _did_ have to do with Harry. She could tell her what happened this morning, and leave out the part with Malfoy. Nobody had to know about that.

Ginny proceeded in telling Hermione everything that Harry had told her this morning. She nodded in all the right parts, and comforted her in just the way a friend should. But Ginny could not help thinking that Hermione completely understood where Harry was coming from, seeing as she was his friend, too.

"I just want to be with him _so bad_, Hermione," Ginny ended, and another tear tricked down her cheek.

"I know. But Ginny, you've got to understand that he cares for you and doesn't want you to get hurt," Hermione told her softly.

"If he cared for me…." Ginny trailed off.

"Which he does, so much. I don't think you realize it. If Harry could be with you, he would."

"But he can be with me! He's just making excuses!"

"Ginny, I'm not saying I agree with how he went on telling you about why he couldn't be with you, but I think you need to trust him on this. It's probably just as hard for him to tell you that he doesn't need you as it is for you to hear it."

Ginny nodded, and Hermione brought her into a hug. Ginny didn't even realize it, but they were standing in front of the Common Room entrance.

"Well, this is where I leave you. I've got rounds for another half-hour," Hermione said.

"Right. Aren't you going to give me a detention?" Ginny asked.

Hermione sighed, "You know, I should, but…. I think I'll let you slide because of the condition you're in."

Ginny smiled. "Thanks, Hermione."

"Don't mention it," she replied with a smile, and then turned away from the Fat Lady to continue her rounds.

Ginny entered the Common Room to find it mostly full. It wasn't late, only around 9:45, so the room was still busy with students chattering and finishing up their homework. She noticed Harry and Ron having what looked like a rather intense conversation by the fire. Not wanting either one of them to acknowledge her presence (though she figured Harry wouldn't either way), she snuck up to her dormitory without a word.

Once she arrived there, Ginny dressed into her nightshirt and climbed into bed. She took a deep breath and contemplated the night's happenings as she slowly drifted to sleep.

Monday morning came with the promise of classes, and Ginny awoke rather early, to her dismay. She got herself ready for the day, and gathered her books and quills into her shoulder bag. Then, she made her way down to the Common Room, where, upon arrival, dropped her bag onto one of the tables in the corner of the room, and walked down to breakfast.

On her way to the Great Hall, Ginny noticed a few more looks at her than normal, but shrugged it off. She was planning on living her life like the past three days never happened. Seamus never told her that he loved her. She never made love to Harry. She and Seamus never fought. She and Harry never fought. She never almost slept with Malfoy. None of it happened. It was a clean slate.

Ginny continued to the Great Hall, but as she entered it, she was immediately taken aback by what she saw. A gang of Slytherins was congregated around the middle of the Slytherin House table, and one turned around and pointed at her.

"There she is," the student who pointed at her told the group, loud enough for Ginny to hear as she neared her own house table. The gang all turned to her, and each of them had a different look upon their face. Some looked absolutely repulsed at her, amongst these were Pansy Parkinson, who looked as though she would have been sick if Ginny took another step closer to them. Others looked confused; they pondered at her. But the majority was sneering wickedly at her, and in the middle of these people was Draco Malfoy, his face twisted into the cruelest of smirks.

She took a seat close to where the Slytherins were sitting so she could hear what they were talking about.

"That's right, she shagged me all night," the voice of Malfoy rung through the group, followed by a few shrieks of laughter and some gasps.

Ginny turned back around, a look of horror plastered on her face. _How could he?_ she thought wildly. _Making up lies like that, that's, that's…._ Tears began to form in her eyes. But before she could make another motion, she felt somebody tap her on the back.

"You filthy whore!" Ginny whipped around to see the pug-like face of Pansy Parkinson staring back at her. Tears of hot rage were now streaming down Ginny's face, from Malfoy's accusations and now Pansy's scorn.

"How _dare_ you call me that!" Ginny sputtered, pulling her wand out from inside her robes.

"Don't you raise your wand at me! I'll hex you!" Pansy warned.

"Don't go calling me names!" Ginny yelled, her face burning with anger.

"Oh, are you upset now? You slept with Potter and Draco and you're upset because of what you are, you _slut_!" Pansy sneered.

"I didn't sleep with Malfoy!" Ginny gasped. Her mind was racing. She didn't know what to say. She didn't know what to think. She should have known Malfoy would pull something like this, but she wasn't prepared for it nonetheless.

"Don't lie! Draco told us all what trash you are—"

Pansy didn't have time to finish. Ginny's tears had become stifling anger. Without warning, Ginny smacked Pansy across her face.

"You!" Pansy pulled her wand. But before she could hex Ginny, Professor McGonagall had swooped upon the girls.

"Miss Weasley! Miss Parkinson! _What_ is going on here!" she yelled at them. "I am thoroughly disappointed at the two of you. I would have never expected this from you, Weasley—"

"She was calling me—" Ginny interrupted, but McGonagall wouldn't have it.

"I don't care what Miss Parkinson was calling you, you had no right to result to Muggle dueling! My office, now! Both of you!"

The two girls followed McGonagall to her office, throwing each other scornful looks in the process. Ginny's eyes hurt and her head was throbbing. She seemed to have a permanent lump in her throat, and her eyes felt like they might begin leaking at any given moment. She could not believe what was happening, between the rumors Malfoy was starting, to Pansy confronting her, to now being punished by Professor McGonagall.

They entered McGonagall's office, and Ginny and Pansy took seats in front of McGonagall's desk, while the professor sat behind it, looking at them with stern, disappointed eyes.

"I cannot believe you girls. I am truly appalled at your behavior. Miss Weasley, I would have expected better from you. And Miss Parkinson, what right did you have to provoke Miss Weasley to do such a thing?"

"It was _her_ fault I said it, Professor! It was what _she_ did with—"

"I do not need to hear personal affairs, Miss Parkinson," McGonagall said, stopping Pansy. "I will, however, be writing to each of you parents—" Ginny looked horrified at this, "—and be taking 30 points from each of your houses. Also, detention for both of you. Thursday evening, 8:00. Be in my office to receive instructions. You are dismissed."

Ginny let Pansy exit first, not wanting to be anywhere near the girl, and then left McGonagall's office. She couldn't think of how much trouble she would be in with her mother. She had received detentions before, but never had any teacher written home because of something she had done. Ginny shuttered at the scorn she would receive from her mother. A howler, possibly. She definitely did not need a howler at this time.

Ginny didn't even bother going back to the Great Hall; classes started in about 10 minutes anyway, so it would be no use going back down there. So, she headed back to the Common Room. On her way, more stares followed her. The rumors had quite obviously escalated from breakfast. Ginny put her head down, and walked forward, ignoring any unusual stares that were coming her way. She had a feeling that this was just the start of it.

What had to be done was to find Ron and Hermione, and Harry, too, if he would listen. Ginny had to tell them that nothing happened between her and Malfoy. She would have to mention kissing him, and that would undoubtedly get them angry, but not near as much as if they heard what was now being spread around. She just had to get to them first. This would prove a lot harder than it originally seemed.

**A/N: Review! Tell me if you liked the chapter or not! The next one is coming soon!**


	17. Hold Your Head High Heavy Heart

**A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in the past week, but I was on vacation. So I hope you like the chapter!**

Chapter 17: Hold Your Head High Heavy Heart

Summary: Chapter title from _The Phrase that Pays_ by The Academy Is… The day for Ginny only worsens when she can't get her friends to listen to her. After going through the day in a fog, then realizing what she really needs to do, will Ginny be able to convince someone that she didn't sleep with Malfoy?

Classes throughout the day got worse and worse for Ginny. As the rumors spread, the stares and whispers and pointing grew, too. _Please, _Ginny thought, as she sat in Potions before lunch, _let these rumors not have reached them._ If they had gotten to Ron, Hermione, and Harry, there was no telling what would happen next. She would be in more trouble than she was already, with McGonagall, soon her mother, and the rest of the student body. Her three best friends were all she had left at this point, and without them, there was no telling of what type of mess Ginny would be in.

The bell for lunch couldn't have rung sooner. Ginny found herself racing to the Great Hall, eager to find her friends and explain to them what really happened. It didn't matter that she was angry with Harry at this point; all that mattered was that he knew the truth, the whole truth. She would have to explain everything to them. How she met Malfoy in the Room of Requirement last night and, with plans to go much further than she did, kissed him, but no more. She would have to take responsibility for those actions, and she knew they would be mad at her when they found this out, but they would be less mad for this than hearing the false rumors that were being spread.

As Ginny entered the Hall, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She would hold her head high and not let what was going on affect her composure. _Stay strong,_ she told herself as she felt hot eyes on her back. As she took a step forward, Ginny felt someone push by her. She turned her head to see who it was, and her heart leaped in to her throat.

"Harry," she managed. He turned and looked at her, his eyes narrowed but in a pleading, shameful way. "I need to talk to you."

It was if he didn't even hear her. He didn't look back to her calling his name, and he didn't acknowledge her presence as her walked by her.

Ginny bit her lip and her heart pounded violently. _He might know,_ she thought to herself. _They probably had a class with the Slytherins and Malfoy said something._ She didn't want to think about that possibility, though now that she really considered it, it was very likely. _I've got to get to Ron and Hermione_, she thought. But if Harry knew, then they most likely knew, too.

Ginny scanned the Great Hall for the faces of her brother and Hermione, but she could not see them, so she continued walking to the Gryffindor Table. When she arrived there, she saw Ron and Hermione isolated at the far end of the table, Harry seated across from them. The cold stares from her fellow Gryffindors directed to her and the reproachful glances being thrown at Ron tore her up inside. Not only was she being affected by her false actions, but also were her friends. It was one thing coming from the other houses, but when your own house, the people who you consider your family, turns against you, she found it much harder to remain composed than before.

"I can't believe she did that to Harry," a voice murmured as Ginny passed a group of girls gathered at the table.

"And with Malfoy of all people…"

Ginny closed her eyes for a moment and then forced herself to keep walking to Ron and Hermione. It was amazing how every scandal of the past few days had involved her. First she cheated on Seamus with Harry, and most of the school had found out about that. Now they had seemed to forget about how terrible she had been to Seamus, and it had been how terrible she had been to Harry for sleeping with Malfoy. The first rumor had been true, and though it hurt to hear about her argument with Seamus around the school and it hurt even more to hear about her argument with Harry being passed around the corridors, it hurt the most to hear about doing the thing she had planned on. It made her realize how much worse she would feel if she had actually gone through with it.

Ron stared down at his food as Ginny approached, and Hermione shook her head in a disapproving way. Harry just stared ahead, a great deal of pain concentrated on his face. Ginny sat down about a foot away from the group. As she sat, Ron turned his head to her.

"I can't believe you," he said quietly. "After you," he looked to Harry. Ron had obviously found out about that, too.

"I didn't!" Ginny blurted. "I didn't do anything with him!" Neither Ron nor Harry said anything. They both looked as though they had had enough of her presence. "Hermione?" Ginny urged. "Hermione, please, you've got to listen to me. All of you please. Just let me—"

Hermione stared at her for a moment, looking like she wanted to make her input, but unsure of what to say. Then she turned her head away from Ginny without saying a word.

Ginny sputtered a small cough and with shaking legs, left the table. She had no one left, nobody to turn to. She didn't know what to do.

The rest of the day went by in a haze to Ginny. Everything seemed so surreal. Her impending detention with McGonagall and Pansy. Hearing back from her mother. Her friends forsaking her. She moved through the day floating on a hazy black cloud, not sure what to do with herself, wavering between depressed and angry. Her body was there, but her self was somewhere else.

And they talked. Ginny had never been more talked about in her entire life. But nothing sank in. It went right through her. She heard it, of course, but she wouldn't allow the pain of harsh words affect her. Ginny formed a barrier; nothing would be let in and no emotion would be let out. But she was completely contradictory. She felt like an empty shell, yet her mind was swimming with emotions and confusion. She couldn't decipher anything. Nothing was real.

When classes ended for the day, Ginny didn't bother going back to the common room. Instead, she wandered the halls until she found her way to the Room of Requirement, where she found solace in front of its warm, comforting fire and isolated walls. Ginny stayed there until the after the dinner bell had rung. She was not hungry and did not wish to accompany the rest of the school. She would be forced to listen to more ridicule if she went, anyway.

Once Ginny had decided to leave the confined walls of the Room of Requirement, feeling a little more full after contemplating herself, she still avoided going back to the common room, even though it was assured that the students would still be at dinner. She continued to roam the empty corridors, eventually making her way to the Astronomy tower. There, she seated herself in a large window that overlooked the Hogwarts grounds. A light snow was beginning to fall, illuminating the dark sky. Ginny closed her eyes and imagined herself lying in the cold, white snow that softly layered the ground. She felt the tingle of the falling snow hit her face, and a smile slowly formed across her mouth; she was completely entranced in the serenity of her fantasy.

When she began to shiver, Ginny opened her eyes. A few moments of peacefulness had brought her back to reality of the situation at hand. It seemed like all at once, she was knocked out of the trance-like numbness that had suffocated her throughout the day, and a gasp of fresh air entered her lungs. Suddenly tears flooded her eyes, ones that had been trying to escape all day but that she had forced to keep in. She cried in her spot in her window, a wave of emotion overcoming her. Ginny was finally alone with herself. Nobody could see her pain. Nobody could hear her tears.

Ginny had managed to cry herself out when she grasped hold of her situation. She needed to get back on track. She needed to talk to tell someone the truth. They had to listen to her eventually. Ginny wiped her eyes, and took one last glance out of the window. _Back to reality,_ she thought, and then gathered herself from the window and headed back to the Gryffindor tower.

Her legs seemed to shake as Ginny approached the portrait of the Fat Lady. She almost didn't know what to expect from her peers, but she expected the worse. It was if the Fat Lady had overheard these rumors, because as Ginny came to a stop in front of her, the tone in which she spoke, "Password?" was less than friendly.

"Amortentia," Ginny responded, and the Fat Lady swung open with that seemed like surrender.

As Ginny entered the common room, numerous glares where shot her way, and she was positive that whispering was going on, but nothing was said directly to her. Lucky for her, Hermione was found sitting at one of the desks in the corner of the room, obviously doing homework. Ginny took a deep breath and apprehensively walked over to where Hermione was intently working.

"Hermione," Ginny spoke, in a barely audible whisper. She looked up from her parchment and her eyes narrowed. "I really need to talk to you, Hermione," Ginny said again, the pleading in her tone completely distinguishable.

"I'm working," Hermione responded bitterly.

"I—I can see that. Not now then; later tonight after the common room's cleared out." Hermione gaped at her. "_Please_. I know you are mad at me, at what you've heard I've done. And I know that I've got some explaining to do, but you will never hear the full story unless you just listen to me."

Hermione's face softened a bit. "All right," she said easily.

"Thank you, Hermione, thank you so much. Meet me here tonight after midnight. I'll give you the full story of what really happened." Hermione agreed and then went back to her work. It was after nine o'clock, so Ginny decided on an early night since she was to wake up again in a few hours. She walked up the stairs to the girl's dormitory, eager to finally give out her side of the story.

At 12:15 that night, Ginny was wide-awake and ready to let Hermione know what had actually happened between her and Malfoy. She put on her robe and slipper, and quietly left her dormitory. As she came upon the common room, she found it completely empty. A soft ember flickered in the hearth, so she tended to it while waiting for Hermione to come down. After about ten more minutes, a pang of worry began to overcome Ginny. Hermione had not shown up yet, what if she didn't come? What if all along she did not plan on listening to Ginny, she just said she would to get her off her back? _No, _Ginny thought, _Hermione wouldn't do that._ Just as she finished her thought, she heard someone enter behind her. It was indeed Hermione.

"So what do you need to tell me," Hermione asked, taking a seat opposite Ginny in front of the fire.

"I didn't sleep with Malfoy," Ginny explained.

"I'm listening," Hermione said, and Ginny began her story.

"Last night, I went to the Room of Requirement with every intention of sleeping with him, but I didn't. After Harry told me that he couldn't be with me, it hurt me. I was astonished. How could he have done that with me and then tell me we couldn't be together? How could he have let himself play with my feelings like that? I was angry beyond words. So I sought out my revenge, not thinking about how rash or irresponsible I was being. I sent Malfoy a note to meet me in the Room of Requirement that night. As you already know, he had been pursing me for some time now, and with his being enemies with Harry, I thought it would be the perfect plan."

"I went to the Room of Requirement nervous, I won't lie. I wasn't sure of how I was going to react to the situation. But I continued, nevertheless. When Malfoy came, I became unsure of myself. I didn't know if I should go through with it. It was, after all, Malfoy, the boy who had caused my family and friends so much pain. But I allowed him to kiss me. It was as he kissed me that I realized I could not go through with it. He made me feel unclean in a way just kissing me and I couldn't imagine the amount of discomfort I would feel being intimate with him. And then there was the fact that I felt that I was betraying my friends and family and myself. And Harry. I loved him far too much to actually go through with it. So I stopped myself. I stopped him from undressing me and I left the Room of Requirement ashamed. Ashamed with what I had almost done. And that is why last night when you saw me I was crying. Because of what I had almost done. My conscious has gotten the best of me."

You can imagine the surprise I got this morning when I went to breakfast. Malfoy had his minions gathered around him at the Slytherin table. They were talking about something and staring at me as I entered the Great Hall. And then I heard it. _'That's right, she shagged me all night,'_ Malfoy told them. I couldn't believe my ears. What rubbish? Then to make matters worse, that Pansy Parkinson came over to me and started calling me names. 'Trash,' and 'whore,' she said. So I slapped her across her face. I was surprised at this; I didn't think I was capable of doing that sort of thing. But then McGonagall came and took us both to her office. She yelled at us for poor behavior and wrote a letter to our parents, and we've got detention together Thursday night. Also now I'm waiting to hear back from Mum, which I expect tomorrow."

"I knew that the rumors of me sleeping with Malfoy would get around the school fast, so I became keen on getting to you, Ron and Harry before they did. Unfortunately I didn't get to act as fast as I should have. You lot found out before I could tell you the truth. But now I am and I didn't sleep with Malfoy. I hate myself for even considering it, but I didn't go through with it. I will completely understand if you are mad at me for what I almost did, but don't be mad at me for something I didn't." Ginny took a breath and waited for Hermione's response.

"I didn't want to believe those rumors," Hermione began, "but after seeing you last night, my mind immediately jumped to them being true. I figured that Malfoy had exaggerated a bit saying it was 'all night,' seeing as I saw you coming back, but I believed that you had actually done it. After I heard what you had supposedly done, I remembered that you were crying. I then figured that that was because you were feeling some sort of remorse for what you had done. But I was ashamed of you and not to mention very angry at your decision. You hurt not only yourself, but you wouldn't believe the kind of backlash Ron was getting from this mess. But I believe you. I'm glad that I decided to listen to you; thank you for pressing on me until I gave in," Hermione said with a faint smile.

"You're welcome. I wouldn't have stopped until you did. I don't care if the rest of the school hates me, if I've got one person behind me through this, I know I'll manage." Hermione embraced Ginny in a hug.

"I'll be here for you always. Just like I've been saying. I'm sorry I didn't listen to you in the first place. I really should have."

"It's okay. I forgive you for that. You've listened to me now, and that's all that matters. Now can I trust that you'll relay this massage onto Ron and Harry? I don't think either one of them will take the time to listen to me like you did."

"Of course I will," Hermione agreed. "They'll know the truth by lunch tomorrow, I promise," she said, as they both got up and began walking to their dormitory stairs.

"Thank you, Hermione," Ginny said with a genuine smile, and the two girls parted ways, each going back to their beds. _The truth,_ Ginny thought. Thank God for the truth.


	18. Good News and Bad News

Chapter 18: Good News and Bad News

Summary: Ginny keeps strong while she waits for Hermione to talk with Harry and Ron. But another encounter in the library shakes her up a bit, and good and bad news comes from Hermione's talk with the boys.

Ginny awoke Tuesday morning with an anxious feeling in the pit of her stomach. She knew Hermione would be speaking with Ron and Harry today. Hermione would tell the boys exactly what Ginny had told her last night and hopefully they would believe her. If they didn't trust Ginny at the moment, which made her wince to think about, at least they trusted Hermione. And if they saw that Hermione's judgment was good enough to trust in what Ginny was saying, then she could only hope that they would come to their senses and believe the truth. _And since when do Harry and Ron listen to what Malfoy's got to say, anyway,_ she thought. _They were just in shock about what they heard. They've got to believe Hermione._

Ginny lay in bed and sighed. She could only hope that things would be better today. Hopefully everything would be sorted out with the people she cared most about. If everything between the four of them was okay again, then Ginny didn't care about what everyone else was saying about her, even if it wasn't the truth. She wasn't hungry, so she stayed in her warm bed an extra twenty minutes or so before she could bring herself to get up. She was even half tempted to go to the infirmary and tell Madame Pomfrey she didn't feel well, but she couldn't do that. Ginny was stronger than that. She didn't run away from her problems.

After dressing and gathering her books, Ginny took her knapsack and braced herself for the day. _No crying,_ she told herself as she walked by a group of fifth years in the common room who were giving her especially wicked stares. _You're strong; nobody can influence your feelings. Block it out._ So Ginny did just that. The emotional barrier that had formed yesterday was back up again, but this time instead of letting herself look empty and broken, Ginny composed herself and went about things like nothing had ever happened.

This proved more difficult as the day went on. Hermione was the only one in the corridors who would give Ginny any sign of compassion, and she didn't see her that often throughout the day. Peers whom Ginny were normally quite friendly with either ignored her or gave her the same dirty looks as they gave her yesterday. _Too much for thinking all this would die down_, Ginny thought to herself with a sigh. Between Herbology and Potions, Ginny finally caught up with Hermione instead of their usual quick pass in the corridors.

"Have you talked with them yet?" Ginny asked earnestly.

"Not yet. I'm trying to find a good time. Class obviously isn't, and I can't in the corridors, it's too busy. I'll try during lunch. Or after dinner in the common room," Hermione said, smiling some. "Don't worry, I'll get through to them. How are you making out today?"

"Oh, just wonderful," Ginny said sarcastically. "I've only got death wishes being thrown at me every second. I thought all the talk might die down, with it being 'yesterday's news,' but I was definitely wrong."

"It will die down, I promise. But you seem to be holding up alright, that's good."

"I've decided not to let it bother me today. Letting them see that I'm suffering will just give everyone what they want. It's hard keeping cheerful, but," Ginny sighed, "but I'm getting through it."

Hermione smiled, "I'm so proud of you. You're really handling this maturely. I've got to get to Ancient Runes. Don't worry about Ron and Harry, everything will work out just fine."

"I know," Ginny said, and continued going down the stairs as Hermione turned the corridor.

Ginny kept her barrier up for the rest of the day. Without the interaction between her classmates that she usually had, she found herself more attentive in class than she could ever remember. In a matter of three periods she had gained Gryffindor twenty points for answering questions correctly in Transfiguration, Herbology, and being the first to perform a new charm correctly in Charms.

"Well done, Miss Weasley!" said a beaming Professor Flitwick that afternoon after she demonstrated proper use of the oppugno charm; her mouse was rightfully gnawing and clawing at the small pillow in front of it.

After dinner that evening, Ginny suspected that Hermione would be talking to Ron and Harry in the common room, so, with reason not to overhear the conversation or look as if she was trying to overhear on it, decided to do her homework in the library that night. She carried her books to an empty table near the back of the library and got working. Ginny was so deep in her potions essay that she hadn't even noticed that someone had taken a seat at the other side of the table a few chairs down. It wasn't until she looked up to retrieve more parchment from her bag that she saw whom it was. Her voice got caught in her throat and a burning feeling was rising in her stomach. She was just about to leave when they spoke.

"I'm sorry."

"E-excuse me?" was all Ginny could get out. She continued packing up her bag. Was she actually supposed to believe what the boy who had made the last two days of her life a living hell was saying, let alone stay and talk with him? "I-I can't talk to you now. Not ever. I'm leaving."

"Please stay and let me explain," Draco said. Ginny couldn't detect any sort of emotion in his voice and didn't know if that was a good or bad sign.

"No. Because you're not sorry and I don't care what you've got to say. You've said enough already to the whole student body, and frankly I don't want to hear anything else come out of your mouth."

"Ok, so maybe I'm not sorry," he said unapologetically.

Ginny let go of the book she was holding and her jaw dropped. "You mean to tell me that you don't feel any ounce of remorse for spreading those rumors about me? I—I…" she didn't know what to say. Ginny knew she had just said that he wasn't sorry, but now he was actually admitting to it? Someone with any amount of class would have tried to explain how they actually did feel bad about what they had done, but not Draco. She should have expected it.

"No, I don't. Because you deserved it. You were the one who led me on in the first place. I'm not one who lets a deed go unfinished," he said with a smirk.

Ginny was appalled at her utter lack of judgment, almost more than she was the night that she had tried to seduce him. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that just because we didn't do anything, doesn't mean that anyone has to know that. You left me high and dry the other night, and I couldn't let you get away with that. You should have thought about the consequences before you left, Weasley."

She knew that that statement was completely true; she should have thought about the consequences before she left. She should have thought about the consequences before she even sent that letter. Ginny didn't know how to respond to that, so she left the library, leaving Draco behind once more.

Ginny hurried to the common room flustered, her mind thinking only half-formed thoughts. When she walked through the portrait hole, she noticed Hermione sitting on the couch by the fire with a book on her lap. Ginny joined her and Hermione looked up, noticing the odd look on Ginny's face.

"What's the matter? What's happened?" she asked.

"I, er, I don't know…"

"Well just as long as everything's all right. I talked to Ron and Harry."

Ginny snapped back to reality. "You did? And?" she asked anxiously.

"Well…there's good news and bad news."

"Oh please start with the good," Ginny said with a sigh, though unsure of how good this news really would be.

"They believe you," Hermione said, and with that Ginny squealed and flung her arms around Hermione' shoulders.

"Thank you so much!" Ginny said, not caring how bad the bad news would be; this was the best news she could ever hope for.

"I'm not done yet!" Hermione continued.

"Right. Go on, then," Ginny replied, composing herself.

"Well, I told them exactly what you told me. And afterward they completely believed what I told them. But here's the bad news: Ron's not speaking to Harry."

Ginny frowned. "Why not?"

"Harry and I had to tell him what went on between the two of you. It was the only way to give substantial reason to what you went on to do—or not do, really—with Malfoy," Hermione explained.

"You mean Ron didn't know about it already?"

"He had heard rumors, of course, but I'm certain he couldn't bring himself to believe them. His little sister and his best friend. It didn't click. And right after those rumors went about the ones about you and Malfoy started, so it slipped his mind. And really, Ginny, do you actually think he would have asked you or Harry if what he heard was true? This is Ron we're talking about. Plus, it's not like Harry was going to casually bring it up. 'Hey Ron, guess what your sister and I did the other night?' I don't think so."

"Well he's going to have to grow up and accept it," Ginny said. "It's already happened. He shouldn't be mad at Harry."

"He's raging, actually. I had to stop him from hitting Harry in the face. What he's most angry about is that Harry broke your heart, enough to make you want to take out revenge on him. He said, 'You slept with her and then cast her aside? What kind of man are you?' And then Harry said, 'One that doesn't want to get your little sister killed!' Which was a good point, actually—ouch! Ginny!" Hermione yelped, rubbing her arm where Ginny had smacked it.

"That's what this whole thing is over! So you're with Harry on this now! I can take care of myself! And I can't believe that's still his excuse!"

"It's not an excuse, Ginny! I know what he did wasn't right, but he did it to save you! You've got to understand that!"

"I don't want to," Ginny said, and a small tear rolled down her cheek.

"If it makes you feel any better, Harry felt awful about it. I think the last time I saw him that upset was after Sirius died. I don't think he would have minded if Ron hit him; actually I think he was mad that I had stopped him from getting a full blow to the head. He really loves you, Ginny."

"Then how come he can't tell me that?"

"I don't know," Hermione said, and patted Ginny on the shoulder.

After a while of silence Ginny said, "But they believe me?"

"Yeah, they do," Hermione replied. "Though Ron's still angry at you for going to Malfoy and now for sleeping with his best friend, and Harry, well, I don't think Harry's going to be able to look at you for a while. But they believe you."

"Then that's all that matters," Ginny said.

The next evening, Ginny found herself in the common room doing her homework. She had a sketchy feeling about going back to the library, even though she was sure nothing else would happen there. But that had been her second encounter with Malfoy in the library. So since she felt no reason to go back down there, as she had yesterday, she stayed in the warm safety of the Gryffindor common room. Though as soon as Ron confronted her, the library had a much more desirable feel to it.

"So," he said to her awkwardly.

"So," she responded back. Ginny really didn't know what to say to her brother at this moment. She knew he was angry with her, so she wasn't clear on why he was choosing to speak with her. But at the same time a small part of her was impressed at this action. Ron wasn't one to have a civil conversation with, especially with matters like this one.

"I'm—I'm sorry I didn't believe you. But still. Malfoy? Why'd you pick him? You know how much he's done to our family and Harry and Hermione."

Ginny sighed. "I know. That's exactly why. Because I knew Malfoy would hurt Harry the most. I was so wrong, Ron. I should have never done it."

"And Harry. Harry is…" Ron drifted off.

"I don't want to talk about Harry, Ron," Ginny said quietly.

"Good. Me either," he said with a small smile.

"But I do want to say this," Ginny said. "Don't be mad at him. He's not the one you should be mad at."

"But he—"

"Ron. For once, listen to me the first time. Don't be mad with Harry. Forgive him for what he's done. Actually, no, don't, because I'm not sorry for it. You apologize for being irrational, though. What's done is done, and being mad at him won't change it," Ginny said sternly.

"Ok," Ron said. And with that, he left. Ginny was sure he was going to apologize to Harry. She smiled to herself, glad that she had finally talked some sense into her brother.

**A/N: I hope you liked the chapter! Review!**


	19. Two Dooms

Chapter 19: Two Dooms

Chapter summary: Ginny finally hears from her mother and does her detention with McGonagall and Pansy. But while she thinks she has overcome two of the things she was most recently dreading, a new one becomes aware to her.

By the time Thursday morning came, Ginny was facing two impending dooms; one, she had not yet heard back from her mother, and two, she would be serving her detention with Pansy and McGonagall that night. The thought of her mother not sending a reply to McGonagall's owl worried her quite a bit. It probably meant that she was absolutely livid at Ginny for ever pulling such a stunt, and didn't know how to get her rage into words. Ginny just hoped that she wouldn't send a Howler. Detention with McGonagall wasn't looking too bright, either. Hopefully there would be different sentences for the two of them and they wouldn't have to work together. Ginny could just hear the words that could come out of Pansy's mouth, and she didn't know if she would be able to restrain herself at them. All in all, today was looking rather bleak.

Ginny had to wrench herself out of bed again because she didn't want to face the day ahead of her. She was positively dreading detention and wasn't feeling too keen on seeing Harry, either, knowing what kind of awkwardness would be between them now. Ginny went to breakfast with a pit in her stomach about the morning mail. She was bound to get something from her mother today, and was very worried that it would be a Howler. She had seen others receive them before; Ron had received one in his second year and Fred and George had gotten quite a few during their time at school, but she had never received one and wasn't looking forward to it. When Ginny sat down she hesitantly began serving herself some kippers and eggs.

"What's wrong?" Hermione, who was sitting beside her, asked.

"I don't want to get a Howler from Mum," Ginny replied dolefully.

"Why would you be getting a Howler?"

"For muggle dueling with Pansy. McGonagall sent her an owl," she explained.

"I see. Do you really think your Mum would send a howler, though?" asked Hermione.

"You see, I don't really know. She's sent one to Ron already for crashing Dad's old car into the Whomping Willow, and Fred and George have received loads of them for the stuff they've done, but I'm not sure if what I've done would make her want to send one to me."

"I personally don't think what you've done deserves a Howler. If she knew the circumstances in which you hit Pansy, I don't think she would," Hermione said.

"But I don't think she does know the whole story," Ginny responded.

"Well you'll find out soon enough. Here comes the mail," Hermione said, looking upwards.

Ginny stomach turned in knots as she tried to spot Errol, the family owl. To her great satisfaction, Errol did not arrive. _This doesn't mean I won't be hearing back from her_, Ginny thought as the students around her opened their mail. It was really only a matter of time until she heard from her mother. Though Ginny hoped it would be coming sooner than later so she could get her mother's disappointment out of the way.

_Thud._ Ginny's head turned quickly to the window next to her as something rather large bounced off of it. She was sitting in Arithmancy and was hardly paying attention anyway, so it didn't exactly take much for her to become distracted. Whatever had bounced off the window hadn't revealed itself; it must have fallen after impact. Then, without warning, Ginny saw an owl rise to the window and begin pecking at the glass. _Errol,_ Ginny thought.

"Er, Professor," Ginny asked timidly, raising her hand with precaution.

"Yes?" Professor Vector said, raising an eyebrow at being interrupted during the lesson.

"Er, well, you see, my family's owl is at the window," Ginny motioned to window where the owl was now frantically beating its wings and pecking quite wildly.

"Very well, let it in and take it to the Owlery. Take your things, too. I don't think you'll be back in time for the end of class," Professor Vector said, and then continued with the lesson.

Ginny let Errol in, knowing very well what was tied to his leg. "A little late, aren't you?" she whispered to the owl after she left the classroom. Errol let out an exhausted hoot. "Quiet!" Ginny said in response to the noise. She didn't want Errol disrupting anything. Ginny made her way to the Owlery where she promptly took the letter off of Errol's leg and then let him off to rest. Breathing deeply, she tore open the letter, which, thankfully, was not a Howler.

_Ginevra, _

_When I received word from McGonagall that you had been Muggle Dueling with Pansy Parkinson I was too shocked for words. I didn't know what to think. I would expect this sort of thing from Fred and George _(of course she would; Fred and George had been banned from Quidditch in their seventh year after muggle dueling with Malfoy)_ but never from you. What on earth were you thinking? Your father and I didn't raise you to go about physically hurting another person. I want to know what possessed you to do such a thing to that girl. Under no circumstances is Muggle Dueling (or Wizard Dueling for that matter) acceptable for a young lady like yourself. I trust that Minerva is handling the situation, but do not take that as your only punishment. I've sent her an owl notifying her that you will not be participating in Hogsmeade trips for the rest of the year as a result of your poor judgment. So hear me, Ginevra, if so much of a word gets to me again about any sort of mishap at school, I will be forced to take higher action in your punishment. _

_Your Mother_

Ginny sighed as she finished the letter. Truthfully, at the moment she wasn't that disappointed that her mother had banned her from Hogsmeade. The place was the root of all evil that Ginny had mixed herself up in this year, so it might be better if she did stray away from it. The thing that really got Ginny was her mother. After reading the letter and feeling the obvious shame her mother had put into writing it, Ginny felt her heart ache. She hated it when her mother was frustrated with her, but now she couldn't help but feel embarrassed at smacking Pansy, as much as she deserved it. Why did her mother always seem to put these things into perspective after they had happened?

Tucking the letter into her pocket, Ginny left the Owlery and headed to her next class, Potions. She didn't really feel like going there, but was not about to skive it off after what she had just read. Potions was bound to push her mood back even more and Ginny wasn't looking forward to what terrible assignment Snape was going to give the class today. She had just turned in a two-foot long essay the previous class and she knew he would probably assign something to the like again.

Ginny trudged to the dungeons and found herself a little early; none of her other classmates had gathered around the entrance yet. She leaned against the cold stonewall alone with her thoughts for a few minutes. Ginny was tired of thinking about her actions and how they had disappointed her mother, so instead her mind shifted to the other dreaded topic of the moment: Harry. She really hadn't given him much thought over the past few days, only because she was feeling a mixture of happiness(since Ron, Harry, and Hermione had believed her) and dread (her detention with Pansy and McGonagall and the letter from her mother had caused this feeling). Harry had only skirted her mind a few times, but each time she had shook him out because she didn't want to think about him. But now he was front and center.

_What if things are never the same between us again?_ Ginny thought to herself frantically. _What if we never have the chance to talk about this mess and we go about the rest of our lives avoiding each other? _a voice in her head seemed to scream. _Neither of you would allow that to happen. You love him too much; you'd have to talk to him. Now whether or not he talks back, that's another story…_ another voice contradicted. Ginny wanted to yell at herself to stop, when she looked around and noticed that her peers had gathered around the entrance and Snape was opening the door to the classroom. She would have to deal with her situation later.

Potions class drug on slower than normal that day. Maybe it was because of Snape's long lecture on the properties of…something. Ginny couldn't quite remember. She was unfocused and weary and wanted nothing more than for the day to be over. The sooner she could get her detention out of the way, the better. But that didn't mean she was looking forward to it. While Ginny daydreamed in Potions her thoughts traveled from Harry to detention. What if Pansy and Ginny were forced to serve it together? Would Pansy provoke her again? Would she be able to resist inflicting pain on Pansy this time? And what about Harry? That battle was raging inside Ginny's head, too. Would things ever go back to being how they were before? Ginny didn't know.

"Miss Weasley it would be wise of you to pay attention unless you wish receiving a detention," Snape muttered tonelessly, which caused Ginny to shake out of her trance-like state. She looked around the room and noticed that the class was diligently taking notes as a series of sentences appeared on the black board. "Please take out your quill and parchment. Now," he said, his tone indicating that he meant business.

"Yes professor," Ginny said quickly and proceeded to retrieve her quill, ink bottle, and parchment from her knapsack. She copied the words but took in none of what she was writing.

It was ten of eight. Ginny was still in the Great Hall and knew she should be heading to McGonagall's office. Silently, Ginny dismissed herself from the table and walked out of the Great Hall. She checked around her, making sure Pansy wasn't trailing her. Ginny hurried up the stairs and turned a few corridors until she found McGonagall's office.

"Good evening, Miss. Weasley," she said, but did not look happy. "Miss Parkinson has not arrived yet, so I advise you to take a seat. You will be receiving your punishment upon Pansy's arrival."

Ginny silently took a seat near McGonagall's desk. Every few moments she found herself checking her watch, watching the minutes etch by. Finally Pansy entered the room. It had only been five minutes that Ginny had been waiting, but it had been a very long five minutes.

"Miss Parkinson, please take a seat. Good," McGonagall nodded. "Now, you both know why you are here. I am still very disappointed with you and hope that you have learned your lesson. Miss Weasley, I've received an owl from your mother earlier this morning notifying me that she is not permitting you any more Hogsmeade visits this semester. Did you know of this?"

"Yes, professor. I got her letter during, er, Arithmancy this morning. Errol missed the morning post," Ginny explained.

"Then since you are aware, there will be no further discussion of the matter. For your punishments, you will be serving them separately. Mr. Filch has tasks arranged for both of you," McGonagall said. As she mentioned Filch, he entered the room, a smug look on his face. All the students at Hogwarts knew how Filch felt about punishing students; it was his favorite thing and nothing seemed to make him happier.

"Professor McGonagall," Filch greeted. "These'll be them, then?" he said, motioning to Ginny and Pansy.

"Yes, Miss Parkinson and Miss Weasley," McGonagall answered.

"You," Filch pointed to Pansy, "you'll be cleaning cauldrons in the dungeons."

Her face didn't show it, but Ginny knew that Pansy was itching with happiness at the sound of her punishment. Cleaning cauldrons in the dungeons. Snape would obviously be present, and most likely get her off easy seeing as she was a Slytherin. Though Ginny was glad that she wasn't the one cleaning cauldrons; Snape would probably make her work extra hard.

"And you," Filch pointed at Ginny this time, "you'll be polishing the trophies. Now follow me." The two girls left McGonagall's office. Filch left Ginny at the trophy case first. "I'll be back in three hours to inspect," Filch said, a somewhat maniacal grin overcoming his face. "And no magic!" Then he barked to Pansy, and the two left for the dungeons, leaving Ginny alone.

Everything Ginny needed to clean the trophies had already been put out for her. Tarnish remover, gloves, and a scrub brush were sitting in front of the case. Ginny grimaced and wondered how much the trophies really needed to be polished. It was one of the most common punishments for students, and Ginny knew that they were cleaned quite frequently. Hopefully this meant that she wouldn't have to do as much work.

Ginny polished the trophies for a good two hours before she decided that her job would suffice. Her hands were sore, her eyes ached from concentrating, and she was very tired. In the process of cleaning she had managed to spill tarnish remover on the floor in front of the cabinet and then proceeded to get it all over her knees after accidentally kneeling in the mess. It took her an extra half hour to clean that mess up without magic, and when she just couldn't clean it up without water, prayed dearly that no teacher would walk by as she used the Aguamenti charm to finish the job.

Finally when she had finished Ginny noticed that she had about a half hour until Filch came back to inspect. She decided to rest her eyes for a bit before he came back round for her.

"Sleeping on the job, are we?" Ginny jumped at the sound of Filch's voice.

"N-no! I finished!" Ginny said nervously.

"Good. Then let's see what you've done," Filch said. He examined for what seemed like ten minutes. "You missed a spot, here," he said, a twisted smile playing on his face.

"Right." Ginny reached for the rag and polished the spot off. By the end of the inspection, she had polished a half a dozen more trophies, none in which seemed to need to be polished.

"Detention's over. Get back to your common room. Don't pull anything tricky! Mrs. Norris will find you," Filch said, and Ginny nodded. She hurried away around the corridor, no part of her wanting to "pull anything tricky" as Filch put it, and headed straight to the Gryffindor Tower.

Ginny made it to the portrait hole safely and climbed through. It was almost midnight and almost everyone had gone to bed. A few Gryffindors were milling around the common room. One happened to be Harry. He glanced over at Ginny as she entered the room, but then turned and made his way to the staircase.

"Harry!" Ginny called after him. She knew that they needed to have a long talk. There was no respond. Harry obviously didn't want to have that conversation with her. Ginny sighed and went up the girls' side of the staircase. She had faced the two things that she had been dreading about today, but now she came upon another thing that would haunt her until she got it over with: facing Harry.

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait, guys! I've been away. But I hope you liked the chapter, leave me a review!**


	20. It Wasn't Meant to Be

He's so relentless!" Ginny huffed one evening in the common room as Hermione edited her Potions essay. The end of February was only a week away and the past week and a half had gone by rather pointlessly. Nothing worthwhile had happened and Ginny hadn't yet been able to wrangle Harry to talk to him. _It figures. The one time I actually want to talk to him he's the one who's avoiding it._ Harry wouldn't so much as let Ginny look at him without leaving the room as he would let her approach him, and Ginny was getting frustrated. But he had to give in sometime.

"I know, Ginny, but I'm doing my best," Hermione said, her quill scratching on the parchment as she edited a mistake.

Hermione had attempted numerous times to convince Harry that he needed to talk to Ginny to sort things out, but nothing seemed to come of it. Her efforts would result in Harry blowing off the suggestions and changing the subject. Ginny had even gone to Ron, who, being back on speaking terms with Harry, might have been able to talk some sense into him. But not even Ron could get any sort of reaction that might lead Ginny to believe they could fix this mess.

"Why doesn't he want to talk to me about it? I want to talk to him! It's the only way!" Ginny ranted, shaking her head.

"Again, I know," Hermione replied, looking up from the essay. "He's ashamed of himself. I think he understands your reasons in doing…what you did, and I know he realizes how sorry you are for it. Here's where I think the problem is: Harry and Ron might have made up, but I think Ron's words are really getting to him." Ginny raised her brow. "You know, 'you slept with her then cast her aside.' He's obviously really embarrassed. But he'll come round eventually. Just keep trying to talk to him."

"That's really all I can do," Ginny said with a sigh.

"Right you are. Now, about this essay," Hermione said, handing the parchment to Ginny, "it's definitely not bad. You've got a grasp on the concept, but you are missing some of the key points. I've listed them in the margin, but if you need any more help, I'll be glad to explain it to you."

"Thanks a lot, Hermione," Ginny said, looking over her essay.

"Oh, you're welcome. At least your work has a lot more effort put into it than what I'm usually forced into looking at, that is to say, something your brother might hand me."

Ginny grinned and then began to rewrite her composition on a clean sheet of parchment.

A glimmer of hope finally found its way to Ginny two days before the end of the month; she had managed to talk to Harry about talking to him.

"Harry, we need to talk," Ginny said, cornering him in the common room one morning before breakfast. She had snuck up on him so that he couldn't run away this time.

"I know," Harry replied, keeping his eyes to the floor.

"In private, though. This really needs to get sorted out," said Ginny, trying to catch Harry's eyes. Harry simply nodded at the statement. "Meet me here tonight after midnight when everyone's gone to bed. Please be here, Harry."

"Okay," Harry replied with another nod, and then left for breakfast.

Ginny couldn't decide whether to feel relief or dread. Finally she would be talking to Harry about what went on between the two of them, and the thought of this brought tremendous relief to Ginny. But she would be facing Harry with the truth and all of her feelings about how she wanted things to be, and that made her extremely nervous. What if he didn't want to forgive her? What if they couldn't patch things up between them? Ginny couldn't bear the thought.

The day passed by rather quickly and Ginny couldn't recall what had really happened in any of her classes; her class time was spent stressing out over what to say to Harry later that night. No words seemed to be the right ones and she couldn't think of what to start with, whether it be why she did what she did or what type of relationship she and Harry would hold after this whole fiasco.

During Charms that afternoon, Ginny could hardly focus on whatever Professor Flitwick was teaching them. Thankfully today was a practical lesson; they would not be asked to perform the spell, whatever it was, until next class. Ginny found that this was a good thing, since she knew she would never have been able to produce the charm correctly today, seeing as her mind was elsewhere.

The day had just slipped away beneath Ginny's fingers. First it was the end of classes for the day. Then dinner was already over. Nighttime had sprung upon the castle, and Ginny had finished this evening's homework. She went to bed. Then, after what Ginny had thought was only ten minutes of sleep time, it was after midnight and time to go down to the common room. Where had the day gone? Why didn't she have time to prepare? Even though she had so much to tell Harry, she hadn't a clue of what to say.

Ginny slipped on her robe and tiptoed out of her dormitory. As she descended the stairs, she held her breath with anticipation. Would Harry come through? Or would he escape her once again? Ginny didn't know what would be worse. If Harry did decide to show, they would go through with their conversation, and this made Ginny's stomach lurch some. If he didn't come, then she would have to go through getting his attention all over again. It seemed like a double-edged sword.

When Ginny finally entered the common room, her heart was unsure of whether to slow down or speed up at what she saw. Harry was there, sitting in front of the fire in his favorite chair. Taking a deep breath, she plucked up the courage to go join him. _Why are you so nervous?_ _You're the one who wanted to have this talk in the first place,_ Ginny told herself as she walked over to where Harry was sitting.

"Hi," Ginny said quietly, taking a seat in the chair next to Harry's.

"Hi," Harry responded.

"So, er, about—about what happened. We haven't talked properly about it yet. Everything we've wanted to say, it's been thrown around between Hermione and Ron and undoubtedly been skewed a little. I know you don't want to face me, Harry," Ginny said, noticing that he was barely acknowledging that she was there, "but I feel the same way. It's hard for me, too. To face you and have this conversation after what I did, it's taking a lot of courage from both of us. I'm surprised you can even be around me this long."

Ginny looked to Harry hopefully, wishing he would say some words of condolence to her.

"Harry, I feel terrible about what I did. I haven't the foggiest about what I was thinking that night. I was rash, I should've thought about what I was doing. I should have thought about you and what you had told me. I'm not going to lie, Harry, I was and still am unhappy with what you said to me that day, but I know how out of line I was in the decision I made. Turning to Malfoy like that, I should be disowned from my family. Hermione should have never spoken to me again. And you, you probably don't want to have anything to do with me and I completely understand if you don't.

"I just wanted you to know that I'm so sorry, Harry. I'm sorry that I messed things up so bad. I'm sorry that I caused this whole mess between you and the school, you and Ron, and you and me. I'm sorry that I'm a stupid girl and that I can't control my feelings. And I'm sorry that I love you."

"Don't say that," Harry muttered.

"What?" Ginny gulped. She was shocked at what had just poured out of her mouth.

"Don't say that about me. You don't—you just think—no, we can't. I can't. You can't."

"You're not making any sense," Ginny sputtered.

"Ginny," Harry sighed, "that day. I'm sorry that what I said caused all of this. I wish I would have considered your reaction, and I wish you wouldn't have gone and did whatever you did with Malfoy—"

"I didn't do anything with him!" Ginny interjected.

"I know, Ginny, but really at this point, I just don't care.All I care about is that you know that I can't let myself have feelings for you. We can't go on. I'm sorry if you don't understand that, but that's how it has to be." There was bitterness in his voice as he said this.

"I've told you before, Harry! I don't care about being in danger! I'm in no more danger being friends with you than being with you! And what about Hermione and Ron?"

"You don't-" Harry stopped and took a breath. Then he continued more quietly, "You don't get it. I can't be subject to this. To feelings like this. I just can't."

"Harry, no—"

"Ginny, quit now. You don't know what you're saying or what you think you're feeling. Just stop," Harry said sullenly.

There was a long silence after he said this. Ginny wasn't sure of what to think or what to do next. Finally, she opened her mouth.

"So is this it, then?" she asked slowly.

"I—I guess so," Harry said with caution.

"Does this mean—?"

"I don't know what it means," Harry said.

"Right, then," Ginny said. With wobbling legs, she hoisted herself up off of the armchair and went up to bed, without saying goodnight to Harry.

"So," Hermione said to Ginny the next morning before breakfast. Ginny was getting her books together and Hermione was apparently anxious to hear what had been said last night.

"I really don't want to talk about it," Ginny responded truthfully. She would rather forget about what had happened between her and Harry last night. She would also rather forget that Harry Potter even existed at all. But this time, instead of making things worse and enticing Malfoy with things that would never happen, she would just let it all be and try her best to get on with her life.

"Oh, Ginny. Was it really that bad? I wasn't expecting there to be another row between you two," Hermione said, looking genuinely concerned.

"I didn't expect what happened to happen at all," Ginny said. "But really, I don't want to talk about it right now. Maybe later after I've thought a bit."

"I respect your wish of privacy," Hermione said with a smile, and Ginny couldn't help but smile back.

"Anyway, I'm sure Harry'll tell you if you ask him."

"I won't if you don't want me to," Hermione told Ginny.

"Oh, I really don't care. Although his version probably won't make an bit of sense," Ginny said through gritted teeth.

"Ginny, if it's best that I stay out of this—"

"Hermione. If you want to know what happened, be my guest and ask him. I couldn't care less. Now please, don't mention what happened last night or Harry again. I don't want to be bothered with it."

Hermione's cheeks flushed pink. "Sorry," she said.

"It's okay. I'm sorry for snapping at you."

"Well do you want breakfast, then?" Hermione asked, changing the subject.

"Yes, I would like some," Ginny said with a sigh. She picked up her knapsack and followed Hermione out of the portrait hole.

When Ginny and Hermione arrived at the Great Hall and walked to the Gryffindor table, Ginny noticed that Ron and Harry were already there. She knew Hermione would want to go sit with them, so she stopped.

"On second thought, I'm really not that hungry. I'll see you at lunch, Hermione."

"Wait, what? Where are you going?" Hermione asked, turning to Ginny, who was now on her way out of the Great Hall. Ginny shot a glance over to Harry, and Hermione understood. "Oh. Right. See you, then."

Ginny turned on her heel and headed back up to the common room. She knew she couldn't avoid Harry forever and that at some point they would have to face each other again, but for now, she didn't want anything to do with him. This time, she was going to forget about Harry and forget about her feelings for him, just like he had told her to do. This time would be different.


End file.
